Verbum — Exhortation to the Impure

Chilean death metallers Verbum hit Iron Bonehead with their long-awaited debut, Exhortation to the Impure. Nearly six years since their demo, Verbum come with a doom-laden brand of death that adds a great dose of heaviness mixed up with speed to cater to all types of metal fans. Sometimes sludgy, sometimes fast, but always pummeling, Exhortation to the Impure is a solid debut offering.

Showing their versatility through many tempo changes, Verbum spews forth a heavy, blackened death with Exhortation. Oftentimes utilizing old-school tones to invoke their grim ritual, this album could easily pass for a mid 90's slugger. Mixing different styles of metal to spread their message, Verbum give the listener easy access into their vile realm. Using vocals as an instrument, the slowly churning songs have an added depth and utilize this well to juxtapose the openness when the vocals aren't present. Instead of being just additional flavor, the pieces work very well with this guttural flavor. However, for an album that spends so much of its time slowed down in a grim dirge, Verbum really shines when they pick up the pace. Leaving the murk and mire in the distance, the propulsive drums shoot forth while tremolo picking buzzsaws blaze a wide path through the mix. The riffs won't win any awards, but they do open up quite a path and add some interesting diversity. While this is technically an LP, it plays more like an EP with fluff. Of the 8 tracks on the album, two are interludes, one is an intro, and one is an outro. Certainly not for the value-minded, but there is some fun metal to be had on this album.

Verbum's debut, Exhortation to the Impure comes six years after their demo, Processio Flagellates. Relatively short, there is a good mix of slow, plodding doom and fast, propulsive death. Leaning more toward the former makes this one feel a lot longer than the run time, Exhortation doesn't really seem to have benefitted from the extra time in the oven. Still worthy of a listen, this one isn't breaking any ground or making any memories.