December 2015 Album of the Month: Exmortus’ Ride Forth
Friday, 8th January 2016
With much of the metal releases over and done by December, sometimes it’s best to look to the future. If Exmortus’ lastest release, Ride Forth, is any indicator of the quality that we will be seeing over the course of this year, we are all in for a treat. Continuing to impress with their neo-classical shredding and killer hooks, Exmortus has the technical wow-factor down while being a pleasure to listen to. Equally potent in the live setting (with plenty of love from much of the DR staff on this front), the band’s current tour with Warbringer and Enforcer, alongside Ride Forth, is all but certain to start 2016 with a bang.
An excerpt from Matt Coe’s 9.5/10 review, which posted on December 27th, 2015:
The band’s known love for traditional and neo-classical fretwork comes through immediately on the first guitar surge for “Speed of the Strike”, as Jadran ‘Conan’ Gonzalez and David Rivera push out fretwork of fury in tandem that would make Yngwie Malmsteen, Randy Rhoads and even Helloween mavens cheer – even if Conan’s raw death growls keep Exmortus’ underground credibility. What could be the new ace in the hole actually lies in the exemplary bass skill set of newest member Mike Cosio – as the band’s classical flavored instrumental “Appassionata” features him doing an equal share of the lead load throughout its five minute plus run through.
Another stunning Phil Lawvere cover solidifies Exmortus’ long-term commitment to slay, conquer, and triumph in a period of metal where we need younger bands to rise up and lay the ground work for future generations to champion. Ride Forth will hit many year-end best of lists and hopefully make Exmortus the world-renowned headliners they deserve to be.
Read the entire review HERE.
