Exmortus - Slave To The Sword

Ancient bad-ass warriors? Check. Heavily stylized band logo? Check. Yup, everything seems to be in order here.I love to hear stories of young people (relatives especially) that jointly pursue their passion for metal music. Like Nick and Cody Souza (Hatriot), or Jasun and Troy Tipton (Zero Hour, Cynthesis). Now add to that exclusive list Conan and Mario Moreno, cousins who formed their band Exmortus when they were only teenagers, the style of which is basic power metal in all of its aggressive, thunderous, neo-classical shredding glory with a touch of death metal and thrash thrown into the mix. They spent many years self-producing their own demos and EPs enough to get signed and release a debut and subsequent follow-up, ultimately garnering a tour with the likes of Dark Tranquillity and Omnium Gatherum. Not too shabby, right?

That said, there's no doubt of the band's chops or motivations (I mean, the have a song called Metal Is King for Pete's sake) as attested by their latest release, Slave To The Sword. And while I like what I'm hearing, I can't honestly say I hear anything new in their sound that I haven't heard on countless other such albums in my youth. So even though it's great music for what it is, I'm not able to tell you this will blow your mind or that you need to drop everything and check them out. But I can say that this is straight ahead power metal that delivers the goods, and that ain't hay.

The Bottom Line: The Moreno boys deliver a power metal album that can stand up against any other out there in a pretty crowded genre, and that's saying something. Don't come looking for innovation or genre-twisting, but do come ready to bang your fucking head. Capische?

Tracks To Make Your Hands Reflexively Go HORNS UP: Slave To The Sword, Foe Hammer, Ancient Violence, and Metal Is King

- Genghis wouldn't even consider wearing a loincloth, no sir...