Reviews list for Exumer - Rising From the Sea (1987)

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.

For my money Exumer are one of the great underrated 80s thrash outfits. This is probably due to the fact that they only released a couple of killer albums before calling it a day in 1991 (although they did reform for a one-off show at the Wacken Festival in 2001, then going their separate ways until 2008 when they again got back together as they remain to this day) and the fact that they didn't originate any particular style of thrash themselves, but built on styles developed by others. Forming in 1984 (as Tartaros) in Frankfurt, thrash metal history has seen them overshadowed by their more illustrious countrymen, Kreator and Sodom, but believe me, although their albums don't have the originality and fire of a Pleasure to Kill or Persecution Mania, they can certainly hold their heads high in such illustrious company and are well at the head of the second tier of thrash bands that features the likes of Exodus and Testament.
Rising from the Sea is the 1987 follow-up to the previous year's debut, Possessed by Fire and received wisdom says that this is the inferior of the two albums. I, however, wish to disagree on this point. The first is a fine record, no doubt, with some killer tracks, but this is a more consistent album in my opinion. Sure, it's not the most original thrash record ever, borrowing particularly heavily from Slayer, that in itself being the sole reason I don't give this a five-star rating (the lack of originality, not them borrowing from Slayer!) That said though, of all the albums the mighty Slayer have influenced, this is certainly one of the best. New vocalist and bassist Paul Arakari sounds a lot more like Tom Araya than Possessed by Fire's Mem Von Stein, probably the main reason for the comparisons, although the similarities appear in other areas too.
Arakari opens first track, Winds of Death, with an Angel of Death-style scream and we're off and running. This isn't really an album of breakneck, headlong thrashing, but is more of a chug-heavy mosh-a-thon. The solos are of the piercing, shrieking, tortured-metal-sounding, weaponised type championed by Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. The bass gallops along, despite not being dominant enough in the mix and the drums are effective but could do with sounding a bit crisper. The tracks themselves, despite not being super-original, are pretty memorable and are definitely very enjoyable, Rising From the Sea, Decimation and Shadows of the Past being the stand-outs. This is physical, not cerebral metal and isn't meant to be thought about too deeply, but to be experienced in a way that leaves the listener sweaty and knackered! Neither is it supposed to be highly technical, so what more can you really want from an old-school thrash album than to feel like you've had your ass kicked, at which this is supremely successful... and I for one love this shit.