Review of Exmortus, featuring openers Archaos and Another Texas Murder Scene, on their current tour for their newest release, Slave to the Sword, in Amarillo, Texas
08/27/2014
So for this show, travelling had to happen, and at least it was only two hours, from Lubbock, Texas to Amarillo, Texas; for this was to be an epic night of metal. Why, you questioning hypothetical reader? Because a real metal band was to rear its dark, shredding six string fangs to plunge into my ear holes, and that serpent was EXMORTUS! With Archaos and Another Texas Murder Scene, this show was a spectacular success!
No warm up, no stupid MC, the venue (Amarillo’s Wreck Room) was a dance floor, bar, and questionably colored booths with plenty of room without crowding out those that just wanted to soak in the ambiance and nicotine. The stage had tons of oom, was actually setup for bands to be able to have room to move, with a very nice floor rug to bring it together. The stage and floor were also fenced off so that the action didn’t spill to those who were not planning on participating.
Arcahos stepped up first, and even though they were lacking in the size department, no bassist, they had plenty of sound to throw out. They had some prerecorded intros and outros, with the bass lines also having been pre-tracked and played over the stage speakers, bu the band itself was a very healthy black metal style that was heavy, thick, and got the blood pumping. I am convinced the drummer was channeling a drumming devil, however, as he was grinning in a manner several leagues from sane, an his eyes seemed ONLY to be whites. Archaos put on an excellent opener, adn if they simply got a bassist, it would give them a much larger stage presence and they would be a perfect touring band for the area. Would definitely go see a bill with them and pay attention.
Shortly after Archaos, maybe 15 minutes, Another Texas Murder Scene stepped up to the plate. These guys had a full crew of five: 2 guitar, vocals, a bassist, and drummer. This band was a a heavy as shit Texas metal band somewhat in the vein of Pantera, in that they actually had leads, a bassist who could switch styles, and were overall a very talented band. Only real complaint was the singer should be arrested if he ever tries clean signing again. That is not his area of expertise, and should therefore be cut out completely. Otherwise, the band was solid. The guitarist helped with 2 types of backing vocals, power-type growl singing and high squeal, while both being heavy groove shredders. A randy Rhodes V and Dime Wanted ML gave them dualing sounds, a higher mid crunch compared to the chunk of the ML, which was perfect fo rwhen they would switch the leads. They put on a hell of a show, and I am pretty sure they gave me Metal Band Bingo all in one go (CFH tat, flip flops, camo shorts X3, long haired guitarist that can sort of sing, kreepy clown tat, bearded guitarist) so almost perfect.
Now, all of this was fine, would have gladly paid like 5 bucks for them; that’s not why you’re reading this. You’re reading this because of the new unholy shred machine that is Exmortus, a young band (relatively) out of California, who brings the classical shred-mania anywhere they go! Since 2002, Conan, Mario Mortus, David Rivera, and a flux of bassists (currently Jovanni Perez) have blistered their fretboards and beat in the skins to move the legions of metalheads wherever they happen to be. These guys bring a legitimate talent to a somewhat stale genre, sending a huge storm of energy whenever their songs blast through speakers. Conan and David are legitimate shredders in the vein of Yngwie Malmsteem, Joe Stump, Marc Rizzo, and Marty Friedman, with Jovanni also laying down some sick low string action to round out the shredsagna. And Mr. Mario Mortus is absolutely no slouch at all, with a blasting beat attack that rivals the shreddery going on in the front section. There weren’t enough towels in the 3 county area to wipe the sweat off the guy at the end of the set, He was dripping as I spoke with him afterwards, in congratulations on a master class of a set. The only sad part about this set was that, bands included, there weren’t 20 people there. It was a travesty, and marks one of the problems with music today. Promotion for the bands that aren’t huge is a fucking disservice to the talent that is there, and will be addressed with a few other issues in another column.
Back to the show itself, there was not a damn thing I could say detracted from it. Their sound was spot on, thanks to a sound guy who seemed to have actually done more than just plugged one in before, and some great stage gear. Both guitarists were cranking the shit out of some Marshal combos, Bass was fed through an Ampeg stack, and the drums were tight, bright, and ready to fight. The sound wall was crushingly heavy, crackle crunch all the way through the room, and the fret boards sounded clear and slick as the cds. They were perfect! highlights were the whole show. Ok, it occurs to me that ONE thing was wrong, and that’s that th eset was too short! it was about 7 songs, and I wa a bit distracted by getting up close and paying attention to what they were doing or I would have written them down. “Slave to the Sword” “Foe Hammer” “Immortality Made Flesh” “Moonlight Sonata (Act 3)” and “Metal is King” were all played, with 2 I can’t remember as of the time of this writing. If you classical music is boring, go listen to “Moonlight Sonata (Act 3)” by them. And get some class while you’re out!
Check out Exmortus’ newest offering, Slave to the Sword, out NOW on iTunes, Amazon, and wherever great music is still sold!
Stills from the show!:
