All Guts, No Glory

The current lineup of Exhumed contains only guitarist Matt Harvey from the original quartet, and this configuration has cut only one record together: the all-covers collection Garbage Daze Re-Regurgitated, which is, admittedly, not the best way to judge the abilities of a grind-and-gore core outfit like Exhumed. That said, they have been road warriors for the last six years both on U.S. And European shores, and as a result, they've learned to play together — in a live setting at least — nearly symbiotically. Harvey, fellow guitarist Wes Caley, drummer Leon del Muerto, and bassist Danny Walker have, on All Guts, No Glory, cut a set that while not returning to the band's gore-grind demo era of yore, is a more stripped-to-the-bone and go-straight-for-the-entrails outing than 2003's Anatomy Is Destiny was. A solid comparison in terms of the genre would be something akin to Slayer's Reign in Blood, in terms of pure attack and throttle abandon. The music here isn't as knotty or complex compared to other bands who play like-minded fare, which doesn't mean it doesn't posses its share of insane riffing, off-the-rails guitar soloing, or almost superhuman drum speedery: check "I Rot Within" and the syncopated craziness of "Funereality." There is the back and forth riffing in "Through Cadaver Eyes" that takes a brief but meaty riff and spins it out into an aural assault weapon. "Death Knell" is straight-ahead grindcore metal played at a blistering pace. Ultimately, All Guts, No Glory proves that there is plenty of life left in Exhumed, with the album signaling a new era.