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Class 6(66)
Exhorder: Slaughter in the vatican
03/02/10 || Wooderson
Introduction
Do you remember when Roadrunner used to be the shit? In the late 80’s and early 90’s they could do no wrong and having bands like Obituary, Deicide, and Sepultura on their roster solidified Roadrunner as being one of the most prolific and great metal labels around. Since the Internet was little more than a fetus back in those days, compilation releases were actually a decent way of discovering new bands. The “At Death’s Door” compilation from Roadrunner was my introduction to the violent, bludgeoning beauty of Exhorder and soon after led me to the purchase of the devastation contained in “Slaughter Of The Vatican“.
Exhorder were a little different than most bands in the extreme
metal scene at the time. They didn’t have any band members that had an
inverted cross branded on their forehead, they didn’t record at Sunlight
Studio and they were from Louisiana, not Florida. Just four average
guys who came together to create an extraordinary
slab of metal goodness that is just as relevant today as it was 20 years ago.
Songwriting
10. Exhorder achieves something here that too many bands nowadays seem to overlook – the song should always be your first fucken priority, PERIOD. Fuck your image and your sweep picking technique. Now, this isn’t to say that Exhorder doesn’t have some serious musicianship happening here because they do. But they know the difference between skillful playing and giving themselves a handjob. Full on speed, a good dose of technicality and Louisiana groove dominate the cd, however; the boys do slow it down on occasion and this brings the songs to an elevated level of intensity. A good example of this is “Desecrator”. Visions of a raging circle pit enter my fat fucken head every time I hear it and that my friends is a sign that you’re as close to perfection as you’re gonna get.
Production
8. Now this is where the great debate is about this cd. I personally don’t have any major issues with the production value at all. While a bit muddy, everything does come through with a nice fat sound and overall I feel Scott Burns did a pretty good job on it. It is similar sounding to a lot of death metal recordings that came out at the time (didn’t every band on Roadrunner record at Morrisound??) but I don’t feel this hampers the songs in anyway. Exhorder on the other hand fucking HATE the way it sounds. According to the band, they are planning on re-recording selected tracks from their two releases so we can hear them as intended. A few bands (Exodus and Testament anyone?) have re-recorded some of their own classics but I’ve always ended up preferring the original versions and I wouldn’t be surprised if I feel the same way about Exhorder’s attempt.
Guitars
10. Jay and Vinnie play riffs. They play alotta fucken riffs and that’s all you need to know. BUT, if I don’t want to get a beating from Lord K, I have to add some filler here.
It’s been almost twenty years since the riffs from “Slaughter In The Vatican” first permeated the ears of this listener and my opinion of them hasn’t changed one fucken bit. Jay and Vinnie are the fucken masters at cultivating some of the heaviest, whiplash inducing riffs you’ll have the pleasure of hearing. Top those monstrosities off with some Louisiana swamp inspired groove and you now have a reason to live.
Vocals
10. One of the main reasons Exhorder stands out in extreme metal circles is because of Kyle Thomas. You’ll find no death metal growls or grunts here but instead you get an extremely pissed off dude who is one versatile motherfucker. The amount of anger and disgust Kyle spews is just fucken incredible. The man shrieks, shouts and rages like a psych patient who didn’t get his meds and yet has the ability to tame it down a notch when required. It’s like he’s a metal Jello Biafra or Roger Miret. There are a few moments here where he actually sings a line or two but not to worry, it’s not shitty, emo whining. Kyle’s the man and this cd wouldn’t have reached classic status without him.
Bass
7. Judging by the band photo, I think it’s safe to assume why Jay and Vinnie handled all the bass tracks here and I can’t say I blame ‘em one bit. If no bass player out there was willing to dedicate a portion of their body for the Exhorder logo, well… keep on walkin’ fuckface. For that awesomeness, they get a 7.
The bass on the CD does shine here and there and is solid throughout but it does take a backseat to the riffs. That’s ok though as it does it’s job of enhancing the overall heaviness of the recording.
Drums
10. Years ago I was in a death metal band that was a cross between Dismember and Deicide and we were way shittier than either of those bands on their worst days. Our drummer and I were the only HUGE Exhorder fans in the band and I remember he came to practice one day with a drum tab book called “Drum Techniques Of Exhorder” or something to that extent. He couldn’t fucken play any of it if his life depended on it but we both thought it was pretty amazing. There was no “Guitar Techniques Of Exhorder” book which is too bad because I would have shelled out for that in a second.
Anyways the general point of that story is that Chris Nail is a solid, technical bastard on the drums and you should take advantage of anything out there that might help you out if you wanted to replicate his style of playing. From up tempo thrash to laying down some groove he is definitely unique, highly skilled, and just one fuck of a great drummer.
Lyrics
8. First off, I always thought not having the lyrics printed to “Anal Lust” was a rip off. The cd notes claim the lyrics were “too brutal too print” and twenty years ago, maybe they were or was this more of a gimmick from the band or Roadrunner? It doesn’t really matter though as the lyrics on that track are easily the weakest here. Their best writing comes on the track “Desecrator”:
My religion is myself
Desecration’s my belief
Your misfortune’s my enjoyment
And I thrive on your disease
I don’t care about your feelings
Pain and torment’s what you’ll get
I’ll rape your heart of love
And I’ll make you eat my shit
That last line is pure fucken gold. For those of you that know the song, you know what I mean. If you don’t…well…you should.
Overall, Exhorder’s message comes across loud and clear. The lyrics on “Slaughter In The Vatican” are a balance of violence and anti-religious themes that have a goal to subvert all organized religion in the world. Louisiana must be one fucken angry place!
Cover art
8. The concept is a 10 but I’ll get to explaining the lower score in a bit. As I mentioned in the lyrics section, Exhorder have some very anti-religious themes in their songs and they project these ideals into the cover art. The pope being led to the gallows by two guys that resemble Agent Smith, encompassed by a gathering of Lääz Rockit fans is a pretty cool idea. The only thing I’m not fond of is that it does look a bit cartoonish. Regardless, it’s an evil concept and just like their music, makes them stand out from the pack.
Logo
9. The logo is fucken ace and unlike a lot of metal bands today, you can actually READ it just by looking at it. It also looks top-fucken-notch on a shirt too! If Exhorder were a bigger band you’d most likely see their logo tattooed on way too many people who wouldn’t be deserving of it.
Booklet
6. It’s nothing special but everything you need is right here. You get your lyrics (well..88% of them anyways), your thanks list, your extra special thanks list and of course the essential FUCK YOU list which I’m assuming would now include dudes from Roadrunner.
Overall and ending rant
“Slaughter In The Vatican” is truly a monumental piece of metal that belongs in everyone’s collection. While I don’t listen to it on a daily basis like I did back in the days when I actually had hair as opposed to the receding hairline I have now, it still achieves it’s fair share of plays on a consistent basis. And I can’t say that about too many other releases from 20 years ago. A fucken classic!
- Information
- Released: 1990
- Label: Roadrunner Records
- Website: Exhorder MySpace
- Band
- Kyle Thomas: vocals
- Vinnie Labella: guitars, bass
- Jay Ceravolo: guitars, bass
- Chris Nail: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Death in Vain
- 02. Homicide
- 03. Desecrator
- 04. Exhorder
- 05. The Tragic Period
- 06. Legions of Death
- 07. Anal Lust
- 08. Slaughter in the Vatican
