UMUR
"Exhort to Obliterate" is the debut full-length studio album by Romanian thrash metal act Decease. The album was released through Hatework in February 2013. Decease was formed in 2011 as a side project for Necrovile guitarist Radu Vulpe, who wanted to create a project, that focused on playing 90s influenced thrash metal, as opposed to the brutal death metal sound of Necrovile.
...and on "Exhort to Obliterate" that mission is fully accomplished. Stylistically Decease play a thrash metal style that is very close in sound and style to the late eighties/early nineties releases by Sepultura. So the music is occasionally borderline death metal, but mostly stay in thrash metal territory. Late eighties Slayer is also a big influence and it is probably fans of the more raw and brutal part of the thrash metal scene that´ll find listening pleasure in "Exhort to Obliterate".
The band are relatively well playing, but nothing out of the ordinary. Radu Vulpe, who sings on this album in addition to playing guitars, has a voice and singing style that´s very close to the voice and singing style of Max Cavalera (Sepultura). Again it´s nothing out of the ordinary, but he gets the job done and his singing style suits the music well.
The 9 tracks, 29:00 minutes long album features a sound production that´s pretty stripped-down and raw. It´s just below what I would characterize as professional sound quality and at times I forget that I´m not listening to a demo. It´s not a major issue and I´m fully able to enjoy the music and the album as it is, but I can´t help wonder what a more powerful and detailed sound production could have done for the music.
Upon conclusion "Exhort to Obliterate" is a decent thrash metal album in the more aggressive and brutal end of the scale. It clearly doesn´t reach the high standards of the artists that Decease are influenced by, and it´s not an album that sticks long after it has finished playing, but it´s still an enjoyable ride while it lasts. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.