UMUR
"Middle Of Extermination" is a promo EP by Finnish, Tampere based death metal act The Soul Exile. The promo was self-released in April 2013 and is available for a "Name Your Price" option on the band´s Bandcamp profile. The Soul Exile were founded in 2003 and released a demo in 2009 before releasing "Middle Of Extermination".
The music on the 4 track, 16:00 minutes long promo EP is technical death metal. The band are very well playing, and even though I could have wished for a less processed growling vocal style, lead vocalist Eetu Keränen gets the job done too. The sound production is pretty professional sounding and powerful, so both musicianship and sound production are top notch for a promo release. It´s in the songwriting department where The Soul Exile could improve. "Middle Of Extermination" is as such an enjoyable and powerful release while it´s playing, but it´s not particularly memorable and it´s obvious the band haven´t found an original and distinct sound yet. They basically sound like a lot of other bands out there playing a similar style, and to succeed they will have to work on this part of their music.
It´s maybe a bit harsh critique, but it´s seldom technical playing and professional sound productions that make artists big. It´s the songwriting. Still "Middle Of Extermination" isn´t a bad release by any means, it´s just slightly unremarkable. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.