Begrime Exemious – The Enslavement Conquest

Begrime Exemious

The Enslavement Conquest

by Lauren Fonto at 31 October 2016, 10:21 AM

BEGRIME EXEMIOUS is a band who combines the energy of thrash metal with the musical characteristics of black and death metal, without any of those elements sounding diluted. They cover INCANTATION’s “Impending Diabolical Ritual”, but stick to their own sound otherwise. The detailed artwork on the cover is by Mark Riddick (GRAVE, DRUID LORD, AUTOPSY, amongst others).

The production is somewhat rough, but that suits the album’s black metal elements. Despite the atmosphere, tremolo picking and rasped vocals, BEGRIME EXEMIOUS move thtough the tracks in a jaunty manner. Being part thrash metal, the band maintains a mostly fast pace, and occasionally shifts to a slower tempo. “Impending Diabolical Conquest” shifts down to an almost doom-metal-like pace, and the slower intro of “Conscription Woes” sets the scene for a track about the grim realities of war. The slower parts shift the focus to the riffing skills of F. Thibaudeau and D. Orthner. Overall, the song structures are quite similar, but not to the point of monotony. Nodding your head or headbanging will be difficult to resist with these tracks, as they are extremely catchy.

Orthner’s vocals sound like a demon from hell, adding a touch of evil to the proceedings. Death growls add interesting harmonies to his rasped vocals, as on “Rat Amongst the Herd”. He also provides a great base for Thibaudeau’s leads. The latter track has one of those sit-up-and-take notice sort of solos; the kind where I’d stop headbanging at a live show in order to listen to the solo. The faster rhythm part provides an interesting musical contrast under his solo on “Crusade Towards Self Distruction”. A. Rintoul provides an old-school, chunky bass sound throughout the album, while L. Norland’s drumming is versatile and does a great job of introducing changes in tone and tempo.

“The Enslavement Conquest” is a satisfying album overall. There’s enough darkness to appeal to those who like their metal evil-sounding, and enough lightness for those who want a bit less of the grim vibes.

Songwriting: 7
Originality: 7
Memorability: 8
Production: 8