EXUMER release "Death Mask Messiah" this Friday, August 28, via Metal Blade Records. It is the Germans' sixth album, their fourth for the label, and their first since 2019's "Hostile Defiance".
We reviewed it earlier this month and gave it a 7/10. Our verdict came down to the only test that matters for a record like this — whether it survives a Tuesday night in a San Francisco pit — and it passed, making it "an easy recommendation for any fellow thrasher". We had reservations too: the vocals lack some of the signature screams of earlier records, and a few of the lyrical themes read as old-man-yells-at-clouds. Neither is likely to trouble longtime fans. You can read the full review here.
The eleven tracks were produced by Dominic Paraskevopoulos (KREATOR, CALIBAN) and mixed and mastered by Arthur Rizk (SOULFLY, KING DIAMOND), and they are blunter and faster than anything EXUMER have cut in years. It is also the first album with drummer Jerome Reil and bassist Alex Voss in the rhythm section.
The closer is the outlier: a cover of NASTY SAVAGE's "Unchained Angel" with the American band's own Nasty Ronnie guesting on vocals. EXUMER opened for NASTY SAVAGE on their first European tour in 1988, which makes this a debt settled 38 years late.
Conceptually the record runs on the last decade of US politics, the pandemic and the weaponisation of misinformation, anchored to the Waco standoff and David Koresh — we went into that in detail when 'Allocated Savagery' dropped.
Cover art and layout come from Björn Gooßes of Killustrations (SODOM, VOMITORY). "Death Mask Messiah" is out on CD digipak, digital and vinyl: 180g black, "Galaxy" red/black, "Saturn" grey/brown ripple (limited to 250) and "Onyx" black ice with white splatter (limited to 250).
EXUMER live:
- October 23, 2026 — Nuclear Winter Festival, Hirschaid, Germany
- November 21, 2026 — Alcatraz & Pluto Festival, Deinze, Belgium
- February 20, 2027 — Endzeit Festival, Essen, Germany
Pre-order: metalblade.com/exumer