ITP V.021 REVIEW: EX DEO: "THE THIRTEEN YEARS OF NERO"

 

 BAND: EX DEO (MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA)

GENRE-SYMPHONIC  DEATH METAL

LABEL- NAPALM RECORDS

RELEASE DATE: 8/27/2021

TITLE: "THE THIRTEEN YEARS OF NERO"

PREVIOUS RELEASES (CATALOG): 

"THE PHILOSOPHER KING" (SINGLE), 3/13/2020 via NAPALM RECORDS. 

"THE IMMORTAL WARS", 2/24/2017 via NAPALM RECORDS. 

"CALIGVLA", 8/29/2012 via NAPALM RECORDS. 

"ROMULUS", 6/19/2009 via NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS. 

SPLIT WITH SWASHBUCKLE, 6/5/2009 via NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS.

 
 

 

 

 

BEST RELEASE(S):"THE THIRTEEN YEARS OF NERO" (2021), "THE IMMORTAL WARS" (2017), "CALIGVLA" (2012)
 

 

EX DEO: "THE THIRTEEN YEARS OF NERO" : TRACK-LISTING:

1. "THE FALL OF CLAUDIUS"

2. "IMPERATOR"

3. "THE HEAD OF THE SNAKE"

4. "BOUDICCA (QUEEN OF ICANI)" 

5. "BRITANNIA: THE 9th AT CAMULODUNOM"

6. "TRIAL OF THE GODS (INTERMEZZO)" 

7. "THE FIDDLE & THE FIRE"

8. "SON OF THE DEFIED" 

9. "WHAT ARTIST DIES IN ME..."

10. "THE REVOLT OF GALBA"   

ITP RATING:*** 1/2
PRODUCTION:****
SONGWRITING: *** 1/2
PERFORMANCE:*** 1/2

 

 EX DEO are a Montreal, Canada based symphonic death metal band with historical Roman empire lyrical content. 

Here ITP V.021 has  EX DEO'S new release  "THE THIRTEEN YEARS OF NERO". 

 EX DEO'S "THE THIRTEEN YEARS OF NERO" kicks off with "THE FALL OF CLAUDIUS" entering with a sample of an actor playing CLAUDIUS in a movie. "THE FALL OF CLAUDIUS" enters with crushing, sludgy riffs backed with light keyboards. Quality guitar squeals  adorns "THE FALL OF CLAUDIUS" with barked and black metal vocals. The spoken word has an excellent audio effect for those digging into Roman history.

 EX DEO'S "IMPERATOR" takes a mid paced, symphonic death and roll approach..While the lyrical content is interesting and MAURIZIO IACONO'S shouted vocals passionately  engages the listener, musically the song is boring lacking any interesting riffs. 

 EX DEO'S "THE HEAD OF THE SNAKE" is a faster track featuring a thrash beat and understated riffs in the background. The Gregorian chants add spice to "THE HEAD OF THE SNAKE" as melodic metal riffs and symphonic tones paint a dramatic picture. "You whisper lies to me, you whisper words of deceit". "The world is not big enough for both of us, the Gods have spoken", shouts MAURIZIO IACONO. 

 EX DEO'S "BOUDICCA (QUEEN OF ICANI)"  enters with melodic guitars,  dramatic symphonic and blackened vocals.  "BOUDICCA (QUEEN OF ICANI)" features simple riffs mixed low in the back ground as the emphasis is on symphonic arrangements and not a belly full of riffs. At 2:14,  "BOUDICCA (QUEEN OF ICANI)" morphs into a faster pace with blastbeats and beautiful clean female vocals. 

 . EX DEO'S   "BRITANNIA: THE 9th AT CAMULODUNOM" enters with a chugging riff before the track morphs into light guitar picking and chords with keyboard symphonic arrangements.  "BRITANNIA: THE 9th AT CAMULODUNOM" features some dramatic symphonic arrangements. However, "BRITANNIA: THE 9th AT CAMULODUNOM" riffs are lacking as again the emphasis is on symphonic arrangements as guitar riffs take a back seat.   

EX DEO'S  "TRIAL OF THE GODS (INTERMEZZO)" is an instrumental symphonic track, the calm before the storm... 

EX DEO'S "THE FIDDLE & THE FIRE" enters with melancholy acoustic melody as it morphs from acoustic to electric guitar. "THE FIDDLE & THE FIRE" is a strong track, primarily mid tempo with an amalgamation of  acoustic,  electric guitars and melodic symphonic arrangements. 

  EX DEO'S "SON OF THE DEFIED" could be the sound of soldiers marching as the song crawls at mid pace with a light sludgy riff. . At 2:05,  "SON OF THE DEFIED" evoked a good guitar solo segueing into thrash riffing as MAURIZIO IACONO. screams "DIE, TRAITOR, DIE"!

 EX DEO'S "WHAT ARTIST DIES IN ME..."  chugs along with the occasional thrash beat with hard rock, down tuned riffing. At 3:05 you can feel the sense of betrayal as "WHAT ARTIST DIES IN ME..." gets down and dirty with heavy riffs and spoken word.  .

 EX DEO'S "THE THIRTEEN YEARS OF NERO"  closes with "THE REVOLT OF GALBA", a symphonic hard rock track about Roman Emperor NERO's conspirator and successor GALBA . .    

 

Due to symphonic arrangements,  it's easy to compare EX DEO to NILE and FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE. The difference is, NILE has always focused on riffs and solos (great drumming too) and FLESHGOD  APOCALYPSE combines symphonic elements with brutal death metal

 

  EX DEO'S  "THE THIRTEEN YEARS OF NERO" focuses on symphonic elements as guitar riffs are somewhat buried. This is shame for a band with two guitarists who are given rare shredding moments. 

 EX DEO tend to focus on a cinematic atmosphere, well narrated by MAURIZIO IACONO (also the vocalist of KATAKYLSM) .as the band amalgamate all of the pomp of symphonic arrangements, as if you're listening to a digital history book. 

EX DEO'S lyrical content might inspire metal fans to enjoy Roman history, specifically Roman Emperor NERO GERMANICUS who ruled the country with extravagance and a authoritarian hand. Roman GALBA and a Senator betrayed NERO as GALBA was NERO'S successor.
 

While not the most brutal or technical of death metal, EX DEO might inspire people to look up first Century Roman history for fun and frolic. . 

 

 ITP RATING:*** 1/2
PRODUCTION:****
SONGWRITING: *** 1/2
PERFORMANCE:*** 1/2

 

 

NERO ON WIKEPEDIA:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero

EX DEO: "THE THIRTEEN YEARS OF NERO"

 .  https://spak-individualthoughtpatterns.blogspot.com/2021/08/ex-deo-streaming-thirteen-years-of-nero.html

 

 

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-\m/ -l-