NOLA thrash legends EXHORDER have released their long-anticipated new album, Defectum Omnium, today with Nuclear Blast Records. Sonically unrelenting, the band’s 4th record in a career spanning nearly 4 decades is classic EXHORDER. Revisiting their early influences of punk, hardcore and thrash, the band self-produced 12 merciless tracks that sound as vital as when they first carved their groove in metal in 1985. Featuring crushing songs like ‘Year of the Goat’ and ‘Forever and Beyond Despair’ and ominous cover artwork by Travis Smith (Katatonia, Opeth), Defectum Ominum finds EXHORDER at the top of their game with one of the year’s most vicious records.
Vocalist/guitarist Kyle Thomas has said of the new record:
“It’s been quite a journey for Exhorder since the 2019 release of Mourn the Southern Skies. Lineup changes as well as the 2020-2021 pandemic and lockdown presented hurdles that weren’t easy to overcome. But we persevered, kept our heads down and went to work with intense focus and real goals. One of those goals was to bring our fourth full length album to our fan base. Defectum Omnium is a collaborative effort in songwriting, much as it was in the early days of Exhorder. We produced it ourselves, as we felt no need or desire to bring in anyone from the outside based upon our shared vision. It was also important to us not only to continue the natural progression this band has been in since the early 90’s, but to put a foot back into our roots. The influence punk and hardcore had on this band from getting our start in the New Orleans punk rock scene has a strong presence. We’ve also made sure to keep plenty of our thrash roots as well in our songwriting process. But we have also managed to keep our doom roots alive, which first surfaced on the song (Cadence of) the Dirge back in 1992. In fact, on one new song we have guest appearances by Rick Wartell and Bruce Franklin from Trouble, and they absolutely killed it!
From the time that we began pre-production until the actual release date, we can promise you that every bit of Defectum Omnium was crafted with great care, and we are really excited about it! Our goal was to make an album that WE loved and gives the experience of a journey.”
With today’s record release, EXHORDER has unveiled a new video for their next standout track, and album opener ‘Wrath of Prophecies.’
Thomas adds on the new single:
“Our third single, Wrath of Prophecies, is the opening track on Defectum Omnium. It is the oldest song title on the album, dating back to 2009. However, it was never truly completed as a song, though it did have its own line of merchandise at the time. Lyrically, it is a nod to the prophecies of Nostradamus, which were much more prevalent topics at that time based upon what many people felt were predicted end times. Regardless, it fit right into the overall theme of despair and hopelessness that Defectum Omnium embodies. Musically, it is a fierce and unrelenting thrasher. With the vocals committing to the song as soon as the entire band kicks in, “Wrath of Prophecies” grabs you by the throat right out of the gates. It is obvious and evident that there is something the listener must pay attention to, or turn away and play ostrich. Lacing melodies in with venomous, spitting aggression, this song is a feature example on this album of our commitment to returning to our roots, and not just the punk ones.”
Purchase/Stream Defectumm Omnium: https://exhorder.bfan.link/defectum-omnium
‘WRATH OF PROPHECIES’ MUSIC VIDEO: https://youtu.be/ea8OpEJxmiM
Following the release of Defectum Omnium in April, EXHORDER will kick off a US tour with Bay Area thrash legends VIO-LENCE, Virginian extreme metalheads DECEASED and LA death metal band MORTAL WOUND. The brutality starts April 5th in Cambridge, MA and will culminate April 13th in Chicago, IL
