Tasmanian death metallers Excarnated became to its end last year. Shadowed by constant line-up changes, the band's two full length album, the only Excarnated stuff I've managed to get, are pretty different in comparison. It was the vocalist Chris Newell, that remained the sole member performing on both albums. Guitarists just came and vanished...

The song material for this album was composed by four, in line-up or ex, band members, each of them having their own compositions. So, the songs are different, but still within a reasonable range. The feelings that 'Purging the Earth' submit are doomy, desolate, aggressive and severe, pretty much how the cover painting looks like. Brutal old school death metal, that's what this is about. Primeval Grave, Asphyx, Immolation, Benediction and Carcass can be laid as the stakes of a fencing within which Excarnated blare. So one can expect some low-tuned, riff-driven death metal mayhem. The majority of the songs are progressing. During first listens they might feel somewhat multipartite in a negative way, but when a listener gets engrossed in it all with the lyrics sheet, the song structures are much easier to get into. It surely is exhausting, but still rewarding.

Guys do small tricks deviating from usual stuff all the time, and those definitely add longevity. I personally like the drummer's tricks, and above all, it's a flesh 'n' blood skinsbasher this time around! There's no much in a way of melodiousness here, it's mainly riffing the guitarist does. There's two kinds of vocals; good low growl, and agonized screams, both utilized without any artificial effects. I like the lyrics on this one. They are well-written, and fit with they various moods of the music. They are very real, enslaving religions being the major theme, but there's also stuff about fucked governments and social shit, serial killer and forces of nature.

THE drawback of 'Purging...' is the production. It sounds like drums were recorded with insufficient amount of mics, because kick drums, ride cymbal and hi-hats are loud in the mix, while snare drum and tom drums are absolutely too quiet! During faster beats the snare is simply swamped by the louder elements. It is inaudible at times, even when listened to with earphones. The echo amplifies the unequal mix even more. Plus the guitars get a bit blurred at times. But the low end is hellishly huge, I love it! The album was recorded and mixed by the band themselves, so I think they could have used some help. It all has a live ambience to it, which is okay, but the uneven mix just destroys something.

While offering nothing new to the brutal death metal genre, this has attitude, feelings and a lot of personality. 'Purging the Earth' needs engrossment from its listener and even so, might turn out to be a too big obstacle for many. If only the production was better... This fault lowers the overall score by a point or so! Musicwise, better than the first one, and still, it's flesh 'n' blood band this time around.

Rating: 7½ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
12/19/2007 14:21