Do not forget. That’s what the Latin name Ne Obliviscaris means. So, here we are, checking on a band that should have been on our radar already, judging by the wiseguy cracks out there. But what can I say, their 2017 piece Urn and all the others before them roared past our outlook at the top of the masthead unseen. So, they were indeed ‘forgotten’ by our review folks.
The RMR crew is always up to some new progressive fun. Enslaved just landed on our shores for the first time ever to surprisingly good results. Albeit, they’re not only prog but also many other things at the same time. Yet, the latter’s piece is in no way as pig-headed and – yes – unhinged as Exul turned out to be.
The moment you hit play, Exul assaults your eardrums with that typical noodling the songwriter over at Ne Obliviscaris seems to be fond of. Wild tech death riffs with a proggy flavor, ambient moments, thundering drums, and runaway violin at any odd moment. All of that soars in on Tim Charles‘ clears1 that constantly reminded me of Caligula’s Horse’s Jim Grey. The band also likes taking the term multilayered to the next level, because everything happens pretty much at once.
Pretty impressive, isn’t it? If only Xenoyr wouldn’t inject those weird growls at odd moments when there sometimes should be none. Boy, this guy often sounds like the male growler of Lacuna Coil in his earlier days.2 The unclean vocals improve somewhat once the Misericorde series stomp onto the scene. Yet, those two tracks truly shine with those breaks from tech death into prog that suddenly turns into some jazzy groove. Less so for the growls that lurk way too far back in the mix. But more to that later.
I found it interesting that the band lends the violin way more power than it does to the guitars. It’s in fact worse than that. The frenzied violinist often wields his instrument like a friggin’ weapon of war. And in a way that even André Rieu would find distressing. But that won’t mean that the guitars are out of action completely. Just wait for the jazzy almost bluesy solo and the lengthy groove part later that will erupt suddenly when it’s Misericorde II‘s turn to shine. And the rhythm section usually chimes in harmoniously with whatever crazy stunt the violin is currently up to.
The RMR crew came across some voices out there stating that the second half of Exul really sucks. And whilst the B-side shows a few weak spots, I urge you to never forget Suspyre on the way. The track truly leans more into tech death than most with just enough prog to please. And – surprise – the growls improved some here, too. Straight on point with some serious juice added that warmed our merciless, ice-cold metal hearts. Remarkable is also the neat tag-team effort between clears and unclean words together with some truly remarkable bass work.
The production, however, isn’t exactly at the right level. Okay, we understand that tightly producing a record like Exul must feel like containing a sack of angry bees when the moths just ate a bunch of holes in it. Yet, as it happens, the growls sit way too far back in the mix and – at times – hit the record at odd moments. To add insult to injury, the record sounds like seriously poisoned ear wash, once you hit the record up on lesser-quality equipment. So, the inherent complexity and some lackluster finishing touches might indeed be at the source of all these impurities.
But where does this leave the record? Despite its shortcomings, Exul still is an astonishing album. The band just about avoided that their complex songwriting turned into their worst best enemy. And that means that the aforementioned glitches are still at bearable levels. More importantly, though, Ne Obliviscaris master the art of multilayered arrangements that thrives on swift moves from raging Extreme Metal to soft, proggy, and almost classical lengthy parts. The record literally gorges with stellar moments, otherworldly passages, and a ton of hooks. And that’s – despite all of the record’s shortcomings – Progressive Death Metal taken to another level of metal geekery.
Record Rating: 7/10 | Label: Inside Out Music | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 24 March 2023