San Jose’s EXHUMED have blazed a path for modern-sensible old-school death metal since the band’s 1991 formation, when the band’s founder and sole remaining member Matt Harvey was a tender 15 years old.
EXHUMED spent much of the ensuing decade hacking their way through numerous line-ups, demos, split CDs, and EPs. In 1998, the band finally released their debut album, the genre-(re)defining and critic-repulsing Gore Metal. The album crystallized the sound forged with their l994 demo (old-school death metal meets full-on grindcore with the spirit of thrash) and first split CD (Horrific Expulsion of Gore and 1996’s In the Name of Gore respectively); the band envisioned the three releases as a trilogy of sorts).
Gore Metal led to the enlistment of then-bassist Bud Burke to complete the line-up for the band’s long-awaited first US tour and festival appearances. EXHUMED upped the ante with their go-for-the-throat sophomore record Slaughtercult in 2001. The album blatantly blended the band’s brutal cult-thrash influences into its sonic meat-grinder. The band also evolved further with their third album, 2003’s Anatomy is Destiny, with more sophisticated arrangements, production and instrumentation within the gore metal formula. After touring heavily in support of that record and the band’s massive 2CD compilation Platters of Splatter, EXHUMED realigned their personnel, adding guitarist Wes Caley (Fatalist, ex-Uphill Battle) and re-enlisting bassist/vocalist Leon del Muerte (Murder Construct, ex-Impaled). The revamped line-up released an album of cover versions called Garbage Daze Re-Regurgitated in 2005. Work was also undertaken on a DVD with live footage and documentary material, but the band’s dissolution in ’05 left the project in limbo.
After six years away from the scene and numerous other projects, Harvey, Caley, and del Muerte teamed up with drummer Danny Walker (Intronaut, Murder Construct, Phobia), who had toured with the band during the ‘Anatomy…’ era for their acclaimed comeback album, All Guts, No Glory in 2011. The album earned them spots on numerous top 20 lists for 2011, including Decibel Magazine (#13) and Pitchfork’s Metal column Show No Mercy (#11). With the positive reception of the record, EXHUMED undertook a grueling road schedule which led to the band finding a new full-time lineup. Mike Hamilton (Deeds of Flesh, ex-Vile) took over the drum throne and Caley was eventually replaced with EXHUMED alumnus Bud Burke, this time on lead guitar.
Over the course of the years, EXHUMED have developed an impressive tour resume that includes visits to America, Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia, and Iceland. The band have also performed at high-profile festivals including Maryland Deathfest, Wacken Open Air, Obscene Extreme and Scion Rock Fest, in addition to tour packages like Summer Slaughter. EXHUMED have shared the stage with such reputable artists as Rob Halford, Napalm Death, Municipal Waste, The Black Dahlia Murder, Suffocation, Dying Fetus, Devourment, Toxic Holocaust, Red Fang, Cannibal Corpse, Between the Buried and Me, Goatwhore, The Faceless, Anaal Nathrakh, Rotten Sound, Magrudergrind, Cephalic Carnage and Athetist, as well as countless others.
Somewhere in the middle of all of this touring, EXHUMED found the time to write and record a new album, Necrocracy, released August 6, 2013 to critical acclaim from publications like Decibel, New Noise, MetalSucks, Stereokiller, and PopMatters, all of whom included the album on the best-of lists for 2013. EXHUMED followed up that release with a split alongside Relapse brethren Iron Reagan (2014), then returned to the studio to fully rerecord their 1998 classic Gore Metal. The recording, titled Gore Metal: A Necrospective, also featured completely new artwork and was packaged as a deluxe 2CD set. With a legacy that now includes seven full-lengths, countless festival appearances, and tours across nearly the entire globe, EXHUMED are as on top of their game as they’ve ever been. The future promises only more gore.
