November 2021 Feature Release – The Pit Edition

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month’s feature release for The Pit has been nominated by Sonny. It's the 1987 sophomore release "Rising From The Sea" from Teutonic thrashers Exumer.

https://metal.academy/releases/9068

Here's what I wrote about this release when I last revisited it 18 months ago:

Am I the only one who finds German thrashers Exumer's least celebrated sophomore effort to be better than their highly regarded debut "Possessed By Fire" from the previous year? From my brief googling it would seem to be that way. Everyone seems to say that it was a bit of a misfire with flat riffs & very little energy but I can't for the life of me see where that opinion's coming from. Sure it's not as raw, is slightly more accomplished musically & is a complete & utter rip-off of "Hell Awaits" & "Reign In Blood" era Slayer but metal doesn't get any better than classic Slayer & the band do a pretty good job at interpreting it so who fucking cares. The new vocalist is pretty bad ass too & he contributes a more than decent Tom Araya impression. Despite a stupid two minute S.O.D. style comedy number I find this to be a massively underrated record.

4/5

Exumer’s sophomore album is a complete unknown to me, indeed the band has a very limited footprint in my world. Having heard their debut album a coupe of times and being sufficiently unmoved to progress further into their discography I would have very easily missed out on a bit of a gem had this not been put up for feature this month on MA.

The first thing I note however is a criticism. The drums start off strong in the mix as opening track Winds of Death begins but soon disappear behind a wall of heaving vocals and rabid riffing and although they are most certainly there throughout the album, they are never clear enough to be fully appreciated.

Percussion challenges aside, Rising From The Sea is a blinding thrash metal record. It is utterly relentless in its delivery and cunningly melodic at the same time. The melodic riffs that alter the pace of the title track so well are just one example of these nuances that make this more than just a balls to the wall thrash metal record. The title track reminds me of the kind of structuring that Megadeth deployed years later on Hangar 18, with the swirling sonics being more reminiscent of Slayer, however.

There is a ton of references to other Teutonic bands of course, with Kreator, Destruction and Sodom all popping in as influences although Kreator started out around the same time as Exumer so more the likely the influence is a shared sound. Vocalist Paul Arakari has that perfect thrash metal style with his gruff vocals a perfect complement to the instrumentation. Although not exactly stellar performances (they are a bit too wild sometimes) Bernie and Ray Mensh make a huge impression with their rhythm and lead work, even if they could have done with reining it in a bit on occasion.

I think the direction f the production was correct on this as the sound does capture that raw, underground intensity that us extreme metal fans crave so much. That having been said, the album sounds like it was recorded in a studio as opposed to a basement or rehearsal space. Whilst never coming off as overly professional, the band retain that energy that they display with wanton abandon at times, centring them as underground in their sound.

For album number two this was one hell of a thrash metal record, notwithstanding that some of the rawness was genuinely down to the ability (or lack of) of some of the musicians involved. However, I take nothing away from Exumer on this record because its rough edges are all part of the charm it exudes and they are more than forgivable.

4/5

Exumer are one of the lesser lights of the Teutonic Thrash scene behind Kreator, Sodom and Destruction, releasing a couple of classic albums before originally splitting in 1991 of which Rising from the Sea is my favourite. Their sound is typical of 1980's German thrash and Exumer do a great job of harnessing the requisite aggression and intensity that is the hallmark of the Big Three Teutonic giants. They are obviously  heavily influenced by Slayer, bassist / vocalist Paul Arakari in particular doing a more than passable impression of Tom Araya - Decimation sounding incredibly like Jesus Saves from Reign in Blood for example. There is a kind of polished rawness to the album, it actually sounds better than you imagine it does, this being no demo-quality lo-fi grasp for kvlt kudos, but it has pretty decent production values (although saying that I am most familiar with the 2001 re-release so it may have been polished up from the original version).

This isn't a perfect album and the band certainly have limitations, but they write fantastic riffs have a palpable energy and dynamism and, for me, encapsulate a lot of what was best about 1980's thrash. This is no-bullshit, heads-down, neck-wrenching metal from the days when every album didn't have to make a statement or re-invent the wheel, but it was sufficient for it to be merely a great record for headbanging along to (how I miss them!)
4.5/5