I didn’t like Exhumed when I first heard Gore Metal in 1998.  It just sounded so intentionally sloppy, and under produced that I couldn’t really take the band seriously.  Suffice it to say, that I didn’t get it, and as far as Gore Metal goes I still don’t.  I pretty much ignored them until I heard Anatomy is Destiny a year or so after its release.  I was shocked by the change in the band’s sound, and quickly went back and checked out Slaughtercult, an album that I ended up enjoying even more than Anatomy is Destiny.  Sadly, the band’s demise came shortly after I had finally gotten into them.  According to guitarist/vocalist Matt Harvey, the failure of the Anatomy is Destiny to help the band further establish themselves had a lot to do with this.   I suspect that this was mainly a side effect of when the album was released, and the reputation of the band at the time.  News of their evolution from a bunch of Carcass worshiping hacks into a Carcass influenced death metal juggernaut just didn’t travel as fast as it should have in the early days of the internet.  Regardless, Exhumed’s reputation seems to have been steadily improving since their break up, to the point of them being fondly remembered as sort of a lesser legend within the genre.  The stage was clearly set for a comeback, the result being All Guts, No Glory.

All Guts, No Glory inhabits the middle ground between Slaughtercult and Anatomy is Destiny.  The polished professionalism of the latter, being married to the gore-choked violence of the former.  One thing that I noticed right away is the traditional verse-chores-verse structure of many of the songs.  Not to say that Exhumed are writing pop tunes here, but you won’t hear very many death metal albums that are both this relentless, and this catchy.  “As Hammer to Anvil” and “Your Funeral, My Feast” are great examples of this, and show up as the first two proper songs on the album.  This one-two punch gives the listener a pretty good indication of where the album is going to go.  Raw, relentless death metal, but also very structured.  For the most part this is a good thing, but it does lead to the album becoming a bit predictable towards the end.  That would really be my only complaint about All Guts, No Glory.  The lead guitar is another note worthy aspect of All Guts, No Glory.  The solos are a lot more smooth and melodic than you would expect to hear on this type of album.  This adds an interesting layer to a lot of the songs, but also contributes a bit to the predictability that drags the tail end of the album down just a hair.  All Guts, No Glory is generally a pretty fast album, with the grind elements of Exhumed’s past showing up early and often.  “Death Knell” and “Dis-assembly Line” do a particularly nice job of showcasing the blistering, less controlled side of Exhumed.  Of course, the patented high/low vocal attack that Exhumed have always employed is intact.  One interesting thing that they do with the vocals in a few spots is have both vocalists sing the same line stimulatingly, the lower vocals supporting Harvey’s higher scream in a way that is similar to a bass supporting a guitar riff. 

All Guts, No Glory is a very satisfying album that represents a successful blend of the dirty death/grind of Exhumed’s early days and the more focused song writing that showed up on Anatomy is Destiny.  They have created a great formula here, but in the end, maybe relied on it just a little too much.  It is worth pointing out that Harvey himself is the only returning member from the Anatomy is Destiny line up.  Not that this is an issue, as he is basically Mr. Exhumed, but I really hope that this new lineup is able to stay intact for a while, as I would like to hear what they do after they have spent a little more time as a unit.  When all is said and done, I bought a hard copy of the album without hesitation, even though I had been listening to the MP3 version of it for over a month.   I have a lot of death metal in my collection, and am not into wasting money.  That should really tell you all that you need to know about All Guts, No Glory.

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*Comments:

1. All Guts, No Glory
2. As Hammer To Anvil
3. Your Funeral, My Feast
4. Through Cadaver Eyes
5. Death Knell
6. Distorted And Twisted To Form
7. I Rot Within
8. Dis-assembly Line
9. Necrotized
10. Funereality
11. So Let it Be Rotten…
      So Let it Be Done

Total playing time:  36:06

Release Date: July 5th 2011
Label: Relapse Records

Exhumed - All Guts, No Glory

Reviewer: Garett

July 10, 2011