UMUR
"Evil Reaping Death" is the debut full-length studio album by US, Miami, Florida based death metal act Hexorcist. The album was released through Memento Mori in July 2021. Hexorcist formed in 2019 and released the "Bestiarum Vocabulum" demo in 2020. Hexorcist work under pseudonyms on this album calling themselves Hexorcist I, II, III, and IV.
Stylistically the material on "Evil Reaping Death" is mid- to late-80s old school death metal with strong brutal thrash metal leanings. Think "Abominations of Desolation (1986)" by Morbid Angel, "Hell Awaits (1985)" by Slayer, and any of the brutal thrash metal acts from the 80s from Brazil, and then imagine how the bastard child of an unholy union like that would sound like and you´re halfway there. It´s old school and brutal to the bone, but the riffing style and rhythmic assault is often closer to thrash metal than what death metal would evolve into in the 90s. Brutal thrash/death metal riffs, screaming chromatic guitar solos, pounding aggressive drumming, and a growling vocalist in front. Oh and did I forget to mention the occult themed lyrics...
...yes we´ve heard it all before, but Hexorcist manage to sound convincing and deliver their music with great skill and passion. The vocals are a little one-dimensional and a little more variation between tracks would also have made the listening experience more memorable, but overall "Evil Reaping Death" is a strong debut album by Hexorcist and fans of the seminal 80s death metal releases which all featured strong brutal thrash metal leanings should find this an entertaining listen. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.