After a six-year gap, Exsequiis marks the boldest leap forward in HARLOTT‘s career. Denser, harsher, and more confident than ever – a razor-sharp sound picture built on world-class guitar work, relentless momentum and lyrics that cast a jaundiced eye over our bitterly divided world. The death of the gods, delivered by thrash metal artisans in the prime of their lives.
“Detritus Of The Final Age (2020) was a great experience in digging out sounds and ideas that we would have been too trepidant to explore,” explains guitarist/vocalist Andrew Hudson. “For Exsequiis, we went further into that, but with the confidence that it would work as it had done before.”
When describing the band’s creative process on Detritus Of The Final Age, Hudson notes, “Whether it’s lyrics or riffs or breakdowns, I always make sure that every song has at least one bit that makes you go ’fuck yeeeeah.‘” With Exsequiis, Harlott tripled-down on this strategy, ensuring the “fuck yeeeeahs are continuously overlapping for 46 minutes. Although undoubtedly a band with their own intrinsic identity, there is still much fun for the dedicated thrasher in spotting specific inspirational moments – a pinch of Arise-era Sepultura here, a ’90s Overkill groove there, the odd touch of Testament technicality or crossover gang chant. However, when asked what HARLOTT regards as thrash metal’s gold standard, the response is unequivocal: “Does anyone ever answer this question with something other than Reign In Blood?” Rick Rubin’s razor-sharp, in-your-face production on Slayer’s 1986 benchmark release is a fair pointer to the sound of Exsequiis, the band’s fullest, harshest sound picture yet. Bassist/vocalist Tom Richard’s bass is especially well served, with an interesting tonal dominance in certain passages, but every layer is rammed upfront for maximum head-caving impact.
Lyrics remain in the depressingly real world, the band preferring not to embroider some supernatural phantasmagoria but instead casting a jaundiced eye over our bitterly divided current climate. “It’s been a pretty interesting time to live through politically and socially,” admitsHudson. “Disinformation appears to be the new normal and a population obsessed with content creation and online participation has really exposed some things that I think we were all probably happier being ignorant of.”
