Magnolia Thunderpussy

Reviews:

Some bands make it easy for you. There really is only one comparison to be made when it comes to Exhumed, and that's the late, great, lamented Carcass. No subtle blending of influences and crossing over of genres here; just straight, unadulterated hero-worship. Having laid most of their cards on the table with their excellent second album Slaughtercult, there was always the danger that Exhumed would find they'd run out of ideas for their third, but that certainly isn't the case. Anatomy Is Destiny follows the trajectory and development path set out by their idols Carcass by injecting yet more melody and musical proficiency while sacrificing none of the suffocating brutality and staccato relentlessness that death metal is supposed to deliver.

It's very much their counterpart to Carcass's classic 1991 outing Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious (also a third album, fact fans), an achievement aided in no small measure by Judas Priest and Cannibal Corpse producer Neil Kernon, whose mixing skills bring out the best in Matt Harvey and Mike Beams' solos and trad-metal licks in tracks like "Under the Knife" and "The Matter of Splatter." The only drawback to Anatomy Is Destiny? Unlike its model, the album does start to flag a little towards the end, but picks up for a final killing frenzy on "Death Walks Behind You" and "A Song for the Dead." All in all, it's so wonderfully old skool, you want to go out and get a backpack and start drawing their logo all over it.