Ex Dementia - In the Chapters of Horror

January 12, 2009

Reviewer: Jesse

Blood-soaked, horror-themed, gore-grinding death-thrashers (that’s enough hyphens for one day I promise) from New Jersey, Ex Dementia add another release in their young career; an EP titled In the Chapters of Horror.  Here we’ve got four tracks paying homage to cult horror and slasher flicks, a S.O.D. cover, “Kill Yourself” and two live tracks.  The first four tracks are naturally the focus of the release while the other three are typical EP filler.

“The Buzz is Back” is in tribute to all things Leatherface and that certain little movie he stars in.  “Subway Savages” could be in reference to C.H.U.D. but I’m not too sure.  The other two I have no idea, so I won’t speculate.  Either way, these four songs are an old school take on gore induced, nasty death metal.  Short songs that are all riff-machines in their own way coupled with a dual vocal attack make for a fun eight minutes or so.

There are many things to appreciate about In the Chapters of Horror, namely a nice, abrasive guitar sound and the incredibly organic drumming that came out extremely well in the recording despite the old school sound that otherwise dominates the songs.  The production is just right; everything is clear yet it still has that sense of being recorded live or in a warehouse or something.  No vocal effects, at least, not that I can tell.  “Double Dose of Death” is probably my favorite of them all and is seriously headbangable, more so than the rest, which is quite a bit.  I can also really appreciate the old comic book style art work which is a lot of fun just to look at while listening to this.

Overall, In the Chapters of Horror should keep Ex Dementia on any fan of old school death metal’s watch list in the future, both on disc and on stage which I can only image is a bloody good time.

Release Date: November 2008
Label: HPGD Productions

TRACK LISTING

1.The Buzz Is Back
2.Subway Savages
3.Double Dose of Death
4.Parasitic Terror
5.Kill Yourself (S.O.D.)
6.Thou Shall Repulse (live)
7.Double Dose of Death (live)

Total playing time: 16:00

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