(Melodic Death Metal) Exhumation - Traumaticon (Japanese Edition 2000) - 1999, FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

#777Not to be confused with numerous, significantly more obscure heavy metal bands using the same moniker, Greece's Exhumation were part of that country's famed 1990s generation, which also spawned such major names in extreme music as Rotting Christ, Nightfall, and Septic Flesh. Their origins dating back to the late '80s, actually, Exhumation eventually parlayed two demos (1990's The Rebirth and 1994'…s Deepest Side of Fear) into a recording contract with Denmark's Diehard Records, for whom they would record 1997's Seas of Eternal Silence debut with the help of producer Dan Swanö (Edge of Sanity, Pan-Thy-Monium, etc.). Not surprisingly, the latter proved well suited to capture Exhumation's -- then comprising vocalist/bassist John Nokteridis, guitarists Panos Giatzoglou and Marios Iliopoulos, keyboardist Thomas Bairachtaris, and drummer Pantelis Athanasiadis -- eclectic blend of doom, dark, death, and gothic metal. Two additional albums followed in subsequent years: 1998's Dance Across the Past and 1999's Traumaticon -- both of them captured at Sweden's Studio Fredman by producer Fredrik Nordström, who helped bring new dimensions to Exhumation's sound. But the band's drive started to fail thereafter, and when guitarist Iliopoulos left to join rivals Nightrage, Exhumation quietly decided to break up. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
The brute force known to the world as Exhumation, was formed back in January 1990. After having released two demo-tapes –“The Rebirth” and “Deepest Side Of Fear”- they signed with well known Danish Metal label Diehard Music/Emz.In 1996 they recorded their debut album in the highly acclaimed Unisound Studios in Sweden with producer extraordinaire Dan Swano. The outcome was “Seas Of Eternal Silence” and the band took off right away with its incredible melodies, sheer brutality and elegant compositions. The sound of Exhumation on this opus can only be described as the perfect match of speed and melody. After that the band was ready to take one step further. They concentrated on writing new material for their next album. This time around, their choice of preference was the legendary Fredman Studios in Gothenburg/Sweden with production mastermind Fredrik Nordstrom. During the recording sessions the band did a cover of Sepultura’ s “Territory” which was included on the compilation tribute album “Sepultural Feast” released on Black Sun Recs.At that time the band was free to negotiate a new term record deal and among other offers they signed with French label Holy Recs. On the fall of ’98 their second album “Dance Across The Past” was released. The band matured as individuals and as musicians. The songwriting of the album reached another level introducing new elements of melancholy and eerie feelings. This time the sound was more tight, more in -your- face with guitar madness reigning all over!The album was also licensed in Japan, on Avalon/Marquee, and in a short time Exhumation became Holy Record’s top selling band in Japan. Exhumation’s growing reputation led to their invitation to perform live at Greece’s premier outdoor “Rockwave” festival, during the summer of 1999 alongside Immortal, Sodom, Manowar and Mercyful Fate!In the mean time, the band had a whole album’s worth of material prepared and August 1999 found them in Gothenburg/Sweden recording their third album. Once again the man behind the console was none other than Fredrik Nordstrom, this time in the new Fredman Studio. Exhumation returned with “Traumaticon”, a concept album about the mankind mind confusion and psychological trauma. The new songs are now faster, more brutal and the production was rawer than ever with its high quality sound. Remaining are the eerie feelings of melancholy and sorrow, adding to that, straightforwardness and inner rage which sums up the latest delivery from the Dancers Of The Past

#777I must say that it was a damn shame these guys had to disband, because for the little time they released material, they compensated it with some serious doses of melodic death metal quality. Unfortunately, this album marks the ending of what might have been a very successful career. One thing that must be said, this album is exceptionally good, but it is not as good as its predecessor, ‘Dance across the Past’; or at least not as fully charged in raw power as that one. On the other hand, ‘Traumaticon’ is one of the most emotionally charged albums without turning the production compass towards the realms of melancholy, the way Insomnium do, for instance.
No, this album is heavily charged with emotion, but in a way that ranges from the frontally enraged aggressive (though never beastly so), going through the desperately lost, up (or down) to the deeply introspective and contemplative. How do they do it? Well, to put the whole thing into focus, they put forward a singer that absolutely sweeps away any notion of death metal vocalization banality; he delivers some of the most perfect vocal lines you can ever hear within the genre, reaching such a pitch and tone at the same time that, even though he keeps the exact same register throughout an entire song, it sound as though he is actually singing, instead of shouting in a guttural fashion, as if he were lowering and rising his notes. This result is only made possible by the vocalist’s extremely good performance; he sound as if he were not angry, not physically violent, but very upset, very frustrated and volatile – this being especially noted in songs such as the title track, in which he actually whispers and sings in a very low pitch, as if he were trying to keep from bursting into a furious outburst.
Well, apart from the very vocals, there is another element that really helps conveying that sing-like structure to the songs: the amazing guitars. Why amazing? Because they are played with such skill that it sounds as if the entire album was a guitar-oriented conceptual one. Well, in good truth it isn’t. The guitars form instead a web of melody and death metal that mesmerizes the listener and really hooks the eardrums to them, making it nearly impossible to pay attention to anything else while the record is playing. What I find particularly astonishing and really gratifying about the guitars is that they project an extremely dense boufet of state of the art riffing and soloing. I mean, it is completely mind-blowing the absolute spontaneity with which a riff gives way to a solo in sections where you would not expect that to happen. Songs such as ‘Nightrage’, ‘Blemished’, Disguised Failure’ and ‘Voracious Sleep’ offer the standard middle-of-the-track solo, but then, along the song there are between two and four (yes, four!) solos completely blended in the song structure, completely born out of a purely normal riff, somewhere between a verse and the chorus, for example. And those solos are - and I assure you I never thought I would use this word to describe anything death metal – beautiful, just beautiful. They are the kind of guitar work that will make you close your eyes very tight and bang your head while in absolute abandon, very smooth, very precise, very fluid, and extremely catchy.
What about the riffs? Well, to say the least, extremely good – heavy, intricate, full power, furious, sometimes even dirty and sludgy, but always (just like the solos) extremely catchy. There isn’t a single riff on the entire album that will not make the listener give up all notions of reality and plunge head on into this ocean of fury and despair.
The bass lines take on a facet which transmits solidity and tightness to the structure of each song. Even though it is not audible the whole time, it is there and helps the album grow in heaviness and consistency. The drums are perfect for this sort of musicianship, always very tightly played and balancing very well the faster and the slower passages. There are even a few blast beats reminding the listener that this is a death metal album, regardless of the double pass mid tempo drumming that adds to the melodic structure of the songs.
Each and every song is perfectly worth mentioning, but there are three that deserve being pointed out: the title track for its immense complexity in balancing a very slow first half with a powerful and dynamic death metal outburst, before ending with an absolutely amazing guitar solo fading out for nearly one minute. ‘Nightrage’ is an absolute crusher song, full speed death metal with an overwhelming charge of melody pounding relentlessly, over and over again for over 4 minutes. ‘Voracious Sleep’ is a giant of a song, at once almost chaotic taking into account the innumerous times the pace changes, crushing riff after crushing riff, and also very compact and heavy, being probably the heaviest track on this album.
All in all, this album has a nearly perfect sound, resulting from a more than adequate production, which gives every instrument a rightful place in the whole, but allowing the whole act to come out as one, compact and wholesome. All melodic death metal fans should have this album as part of their collections; it is an excellent record which will still sound fresh and compelling in years to come.
Review written by TheSkrypter for www.metal-archives.com