NOLA thrash and groove trailblazers Exhorder have revealed details and plans for the release of their eagerly anticipated 4th full-length record, “Defectum Omnium”, that’s due out March 8th, 2024, via Nuclear Blast Records. Featuring 12 crushing tracks and ominous cover artwork by Travis Smith (Katatonia, Opeth), the album follows the band’s critically revered 2019 release “Mourn the Southern Skies”.
Commenting on the impending album, vocalist & guitarist Kyle Thomas states:
“It’s been quite a journey for Exhorder since the 2019 release of ‘Mourn the Southern Skies’. Line-up 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, or maybe even a rollercoaster ride effect. We can’t wait to share it with the world”!
Without further ado, Exhorder kicks in the door of 2024 with a savage new track, “Year of the Goat”, that sets the neck-snapping pace for the record to come. Watch the music video directed by Brian “Bone” Thorburn and produced by Threshold Studios below.
Adding on the new song, Thomas says:
“Our debut single ‘Year of the Goat’ is a fast paced, chugging piece in the spirit of the influence that Motörhead had on punk rock bands like Charged GBH and The Exploited. The lyrical approach is a throwback to early Exhorder attitude, and we had a ton of fun filming the video at a free show that we performed in the greater Cincinnati area. 2024 is the year of the goat”!
Pre-order & pre-save “Defectum Omnium” here.
Tracklist:
01. Wrath of Prophecies
02. Under the Gaslight
03. Forever and Beyond Despair
04. The Tale of Unsound Minds
05. Divide and Conquer
06. Year of the Goat
07. Taken by Flames
08. Defectum Omnium / Stolen Hope
09. Three Stages of Truth / Lacing the Well
10. Sedition
11. Desensitized
12. Your Six
Formed in 1986, Exhorder’s journey has proven exciting, yet tumultuous. After a twenty-seven-year absence following their final Roadrunner Records release in 1992, Exhorder re-entered the game with an album considered by many to be a contender for the “Best Comeback Album” category. The band released “Mourn the Southern Skies” in October of 2019 through Nuclear Blast Records. Fraught with euphoric peaks and crippling valleys throughout its existence, line-up changes, and the 2020-2021 pandemic, Exhorder has since clawed back through the muck to prepare yet another album to add to the discography. In the spring of 2024, Exhorder presents yet again via Nuclear Blast their fourth full-length recording, “Defectum Omnium”, the Latin phrase for “The Failure of All”. Singer Kyle Thomas wryly explains that the album title is representative of the current state of affairs that the world is in. “The world is a dumpster fire, and we are all complicit”, he explains. “People have been talking about, ‘…viruses killing us off, blah-blah, blah…’, when in actuality WE are the virus to the Earth. Mother Nature is simply trying to shake off the fleas, and her ‘viruses’ are the antibodies combating US. Earth will survive, and we will join the dinosaurs, woolly mammoths, and saber-toothed tigers soon enough in her history”.
Produced by Exhorder and mixed by Jens Bogren, “Defectum Omnium” puts a foot back into the roots of the band’s inception. The scales have tipped favorably towards the presence of punk and thrash more so than on “Mourn the Southern Skies”. Tracks like “Wrath of Prophecies”, “Forever and Beyond Despair”, and “Sedition” are what Exhorder comes by most honestly when referring to their beginnings. There is also a strong presence of doom influence, as always. “The Tale of Unsound Minds” and the haunting “Defectum Omnium/Stolen Hope” will raise utter despair from the depths of your soul. The thick New Orleans grooves Exhorder has been known for beating out since day one are still undeniable, and they stand out in tracks like “Year of the Goat”, “Under the Gaslight”, and “Three Stages of Truth/Lacing the Well”.
One trait about “Defectum Omnium” that deserves to be pointed out is that it is more of a journey and experience than just a regurgitated selection of songs on autopilot. With peaks and valleys much like a roller coaster ride, one listener described the album as having “…a little something for everyone”. As Exhorder has always been hard to classify by one genre, the album is loaded with heaviness, aggression, speed, and venom. It also has an equal presence of mystery, melody, and harmony, and vacillates between darkness and light. Themes that dart back and forth between surviving oppression, despair, revolution, and brittle hope take you through the band’s madness by way of the musical path that they have forged. With touring plans underway in support of “Defectum Omnium”, Exhorder finds itself poised to finally achieve the brass ring potential that has always seemed to be just out of their reach.
Weblinks:
www.exhorder.com
www.facebook.com/exhorderofficial
