(written by Islander)
We haven’t forgotten that the full name of Eximperitus is Eximperituserqethhzebibšiptugakkathšulweliarzaxułum. How could we forget? And it’s obvious from their logo up there, isn’t it? But we’ll play along with the abbreviation, especially since that seems to be the preference of the band’s label Willowtip Records.
We also haven’t forgotten the 36-word title of this Belarusian band’s 2016 debut album, though we couldn’t recite it even at gunpoint, any more than we could recite Eximperitus’ full name. Their 2021 sophomore album — Šahrartu — was easier on the tongue, as were all the one-word song titles. Their forthcoming third album, Meritoriousness of Equanimity, is pronounceable, even though it quadruples the number of syllables compared to the title of the second full-length.
However, Eximperitus have mostly reverted to form in their song names on the new one. Many are quite long, and all of them are, for want of a better word… mysteriously exotic. Take, for example, the name of the song we’re premiering today — “Golden Chains for the Construction of Individual Greatness” — although it’s tidy compared to Track No. 7 on Meritoriousness of Equanimity:
“Molecular Disintegration of an Unattainable Solitary Will in a Vessel of Wisdom…as a Result of the Soul’s Aspiration to Break the Summed Up Set of Delusions of Reason… in the Course of a Personal Experience of Accepting the Imperfection of the World and Proving that Time Gets Rid of the Fragile and Leaves Invulnerable”
Sadly, it’s probably true that no one came here for wordplay, so we’ll reluctantly leave the linguistics behind us and move on to the experiences of “Golden Chains for the Construction of Individual Greatness“.
Without warning the song starts jabbing, squirming, battering, and blasting. Even with its machine-like execution, it creates an electrifying aura of frantic madness, and while the guttural roars are more monstrous than mad, those vocals enhance the music’s frightening currents.
The music also expands, and delivers tidal waves of blazing sound through which a mesmerizing melodic guitar solo spirals, shifting the music’s mood in more wrenching directions. As the decibels suddenly diminish, the music becomes exotic and mysterious, and as the full band return, the song’s mood changes again, gloomily ravaged in the low end and simultaneously haunted and crazed in the upper reaches.
Those shrill guitar leads are piercing and powerful, and the abrasive fretwork convulsions and blistering percussion beneath them generate power of a different kind — though the closing phase returns us to that earlier exotic interlude.
And so the song creates interesting intersections. On the one hand, it connects with features of technical and brutal death metal, but on the other hand it includes striking melodies that memorably channel forlorn moods and sensations of ancient mystery. It reinforces the impression of Eximperitus in their current form as an intriguingly multi-dimensional force.
That is the second song to be publicly revealed from the album so far. The first one was “The Untimely Fruit of the Unsaid“. Gruesome, abyssal gutturals announce that song, backed by militaristic drum tattoos and riffing that corrosively boils and burns. The riffing also viciously jolts and miserably whines, setting the stage for a freakishly contorting guitar solo.
Though instrumentally feverish and spiked by vivid drum-fills and blast-beat flurries, the song continues to carry a very tormented and miserable mood. The music seems to dismally moan and hopelessly wail, though accented by high-toned fretwork-seizures and slowly weeping lead-guitar melodies. The dual-guitar soloing really seizes attention, heart-broken and anguished in its melodies.
It’s emotionally a very intense and dark song, but it also includes a closing phase that sounds like corrosive jackhammers bent on busting skulls, punctuated by squealing and squirming string-tortures. Get your neck loose for that final minute and a half.
We’ll now share this statement about the album from Eximperitus:
“In times when despair overflows human hearts… when the chasm of strife between civilizations widens… when loyalty to ideologies tears blood ties apart… when the world stands still, poised for the final leap of prolonged self-destruction… We can draw strength solely from internal sources, which are filled only by the multifaceted power of Death Metal…”
Willowtip Records will unleash Meritoriousness of Equanimity on January 30th, on vinyl, cassette, CD, and digital formats. If your mind and digits are still in reasonable working order despite the two songs above, you can order it now:
PRE-ORDER:
https://eximperitus.bandcamp.com/album/meritoriousness-of-equanimity
https://www.willowtip.com/bands/details/eximperitus.aspx
EXIMPERITUS:
https://www.facebook.com/eximperitus.official
https://www.instagram.com/eximperitus_official/