US death metal titans Exhumed are well and truly back, and choose to use their tenth album ‘Red Asphalt’ as some kind of Public Service Announcement.
As soon as I noted that the latest output from these California deathgrind legends was titled ‘Red Asphalt’, the first question I posed was why they had chosen to write about cycle paths. Little did I realise that I wasn’t entirely wrong.
In the UK we have hedgehogs, and other cuddly figures, standing forlornly at roadsides being castigated for forgetting to Stop Look Listen, and often finding themselves within an inch of being smashed to smithereens or placed in traction (if indeed any qualified veterinary surgeon would deem it proportionate to place a hedgehog in traction).
In the USA. they just get their death metal bands to do it. Of course, we can all see Corpsegrinder working as a lollipop lady and would bat not one iota of an eyelid.
‘Red Asphalt’ 37 minutes of absolutely flawless, perfect, stainless deathgrind, performed in the manner that only Exhumed hold the keys to, and dedicated to car accidents across the world. This is a hefty hard-hitting affair that contains the usual buzzing guitars, the acerbic higher vocals that combine with the deathly lower tones and a monumental drum performance that sets an incomprehensible pace at times.
The usual comparisons to Carcass remain strong although their UK counterparts haven’t yet moved out of the slaughterhouses and operating theatres, or focused their attention on the M62 – maybe they should.
Opting for an absence of any filler or hesitation (another key message when it comes to road safety) there is not a weak track on this release – but, for me, standouts include opener ‘Unsafe At Any Speed’, ‘Shovelhead’ and the aptly titled ‘Crawling From The Wreckage’. Highly recommended and a darn sight better than tailgating.
Best Paired With: a couple of crash test dummies, a sight test and a copy of the Green Cross Code.
Exhumed – Red Asphalt is out now on relapse records.
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