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Exhumed is an American
death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...
band from
San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...
that is currently signed to
Relapse Records Relapse Records is an American independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990. The label features many grindcore, death metal, metalcore and sludge metal artists. History The label w ...
and centered around guitarist/vocalist Matt Harvey. The band has released eight albums and eight split 7-inch singles. They were formed in 1990, went on hiatus in 2005, and reformed in 2010.


Background


Early history (1990–2000)

Exhumed formed in 1990, when founding member Matt Harvey was 15 years old. Exhumed spent much of the ensuing decade releasing numerous demos, split CDs, and EPs. Harvey explained that he was influenced by
Carcass Carcass or Carcase (both pronounced ) may refer to: *Dressed carcass, the body of a livestock animal ready for butchery, after removal of skin, visceral organs, head, feet etc. *Carrion, the decaying dead body of an animal or human being *The str ...
, Impetigo, Repulsion and
Terrorizer Terrorizer is an American grindcore band formed in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. After disbanding, its members gained recognition by playing in influential extreme metal bands, such as Morbid Angel ( David Vincent, Pete Sandoval), Napalm ...
as well as early albums by Entombed. The band recorded their debut album '' Gore Metal'' in 1998. The album blended death metal and grindcore and influenced later bands who played the same type of music. Harvey said that ''Gore Metal'' was the album where Exhumed developed its vision, although he conceded that "we were still very loose and sloppy and didn't really have a handle on recording at all. Listening back to that record, I like most of the songs, but the production is awful sounding." Harvey said the band recorded several songs for the album that were lost when producer James Murphy, then suffering from brain cancer and acting "erratically", was evicted from his studio in
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...
.


Middle period and hiatus (2001–2009)

This led to the band touring the United States and making several festival appearances. The band's line-up continued to change during and after the release of their second album, ''
Slaughtercult ''Slaughtercult'' is the second full-length studio album by American death metal band Exhumed. It contained backup vocals from Henke Forss from Dawn and guest lead guitars on one song by Mieszko Talarczyk of Nasum. Overview Founding member Matt ...
'', in August 2000. Harvey said that ''Slaughtercult'' was "the album where we came closest to achieving our goal – just a brutal, simple, direct group of songs that were very up-front and live sounding." He further noted the band's pride over the lack of
double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...
on the album, in contrast to contemporary death metal trends. In support of ''Slaughtercult'', the band did three US tours, and their first proper European tour, including co-headlining festivals like Fuck the Commerce and Obscene Extreme. The band also appeared at the
Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a rock music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all styles and subgenres of hard rock and metal are ...
festival. The band evolved further with their third album, ''
Anatomy Is Destiny ''Anatomy Is Destiny'' is the third full-length album by American death metal band Exhumed. The album is regarded as Exhumed's "most critically acclaimed" album. The title of the album is taken from a quote by Sigmund Freud. The only album to fe ...
'' (2003), which added more sophisticated arrangements, production and instrumentation. Bassist Leon del Muerte replaced Bud Burke soon after the album was recorded. Harvey described the album as "a big step forward", but retrospectively criticized the album for its lack of memorable choruses. He said of ''Anatomy Is Destiny'', "in many ways it's our best album, but in just as many, we missed the mark on a bunch of things." Co-founder and drummer Col Jones departed Exhumed in 2003, which affected the creative chemistry of the band. Harvey recalled, "After he (Jones) left it was a big adjustment. I was trying to run shit on my own creatively and logistically. The anatomy of the band just dissolved and everything fell apart." As Harvey attempted to rebuild the line-up, Exhumed issued a double CD compilation of their early recordings titled ''Platters of Splatter''. After touring North America, Europe, Japan, and Australia, guitarist Mike Beams departed and new guitarist Wes Caley and drummer Matt Connell made their debut. Exhumed then completed recording an album of cover songs titled ''
Garbage Daze Re-Regurgitated ''Garbage Daze Re-Regurgitated'' is the fourth album by American death metal band Exhumed. It is entirely composed of covers by artists that influenced Exhumed. The first album to feature bassist Leon del Muerte, guitarist Wes Caley and the only ...
''. Harvey later explained that the album was intended as a "stopgap" album, although the band's subsequent hiatus put the band on hold longer than planned. Harvey later recalled: During the hiatus, Harvey played in Dekapitator, Gravehill, and Scarecrow. Harvey, later remarking that "the passion for music didn't go away but my passion for Exhumed went away", came to regret that the band's last recording would be a covers album and, feeling rejuvenated, decided to reform Exhumed to record a new studio album.


Reunion (2010–present)

In an interview conducted shortly after announcing that Exhumed would reform, Harvey remarked that "After a few years off and away from the death metal scene, I feel rejuvenated and ready to hack, maim, and kill once again. I wanted this to be a continuation of what the band was doing and was on its way to doing, not a reunion or some weird nostalgia thing." In 2010, the band recorded ''
All Guts, No Glory ''All Guts, No Glory'' is the fifth full-length album by death metal band Exhumed, and the first since their 2010 reformation. It was released on July 5, 2011, by Relapse Records. Dane Prokofiev of PopMatters said the album is capable of "remin ...
''. The album line up was Harvey on guitars and high vocals, del Muerte on bass and low vocals, Caley on guitar, and Danny Walker on drums. The musical approach taken on ''All Guts, No Glory'' was, according to Harvey, intentionally based on the band members' favoured elements of previous Exhumed records: "We all agreed that the period of Exhumed we liked the best was ''Slaughtercult'' and wanted to mix that with the technicality and melody of ''Anatomy''." The band toured extensively, although del Muerte and Walker left the band to complete
Murder Construct Murder Construct is an American extreme metal band from Los Angeles, California, United States. The band members are Travis Ryan (Cattle Decapitation), Leon del Muerte (Nausea LA, ex- Exhumed, ex-D.I.S., ex-Intronaut, ex- Impaled, ex-Phobia), C ...
's debut album. They were replaced by Bob Babcock and Mike Hamilton (
Deeds of Flesh Deeds of Flesh is an American brutal death metal band from Los Osos, California, U.S. They were formed in 1993 by Jacoby Kingston, Erik Lindmark (1972–2018) and Joey Heaslet, and remained active until Lindmark's death in 2018. They founded t ...
), respectively. In 2012, guitarist Caley was replaced by Bud Burke, and the band recorded ''
Necrocracy ''Necrocracy'' is the sixth studio album by American death metal band Exhumed. The album was released on August 2, 2013, by Relapse Records. A music video was released for the lead single, "Coins upon the Eyes". The album was described by front ...
'', which was released by
Relapse Records Relapse Records is an American independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990. The label features many grindcore, death metal, metalcore and sludge metal artists. History The label w ...
on August 2, 2013. Harvey described the album as being "not quite as fast" as ''All Guts, No Glory''. On November 6, 2014, the band appeared on the season 3 premiere of '' The Eric Andre Show''. In November 2014, Matt Ferri replaced Rob Babcock on bass. In 2015, Matt Ferri left and Ross Sewage rejoined the band on bass. The band released their seventh album ''Death Revenge'' on October 13, 2017.


Songwriting

Over the years of their existence, Exhumed's approach to songwriting has become increasingly traditional in its structure and has been greatly influenced by Metal acts such as Visage. Main songwriter Matt Harvey said:


Lyrics

Exhumed's lyrics focus on gore themes. However, the band uses this thematic lens in an allegorical fashion. Lyricist Matt Harvey said: On ''Necrocracy'', Harvey wrote lyrics that applied the gore theme to political subject matter, such as a critique of American corporatism and consumerism.


Personnel


Current

* Matt Harvey – vocals, guitars (1990–2005, 2010–present) * Ross Sewage – vocals (1994–1999, 2015–present), bass (1995–99, 2015-present) * Mike Hamilton – drums (2011–present) * Sebastian Philips – guitars (2018–present)


Former

* Bud Burke – bass, vocals (1999–2003), guitars, vocals (2012–2018) * Rocky Torrecillas – guitar (1990–1991) * Derrel Houdashelt – guitar (1991–1996) * Leon del Muerte – guitar, vocals (1996–1997), bass, vocals (2003–2005, 2010–2011) * Mike Beams – guitar, vocals (1998–2004) * Wes Caley – guitar (2004–2005, 2010–2012) * Peter Rossman – bass (1990–1991) * Ben Marrs – bass (1991–1992) * Jake Giardina – vocals (1991–93), bass (1993) * Matt Widener – bass, vocals (1994–1995) * Rob Babcock – bass, vocals (2012–2014) * Matt Ferri – bass, vocals (2014–2015) * Col Jones – drums (1990–2003) * Danny Walker – drums (2003–2004, 2010–2011) * Matt Connell – drums (2004–2005)


Timeline


Discography


Albums

*'' Gore Metal'' (1998) *''
Slaughtercult ''Slaughtercult'' is the second full-length studio album by American death metal band Exhumed. It contained backup vocals from Henke Forss from Dawn and guest lead guitars on one song by Mieszko Talarczyk of Nasum. Overview Founding member Matt ...
'' (2000) *''
Anatomy Is Destiny ''Anatomy Is Destiny'' is the third full-length album by American death metal band Exhumed. The album is regarded as Exhumed's "most critically acclaimed" album. The title of the album is taken from a quote by Sigmund Freud. The only album to fe ...
'' (2003) *''
Garbage Daze Re-Regurgitated ''Garbage Daze Re-Regurgitated'' is the fourth album by American death metal band Exhumed. It is entirely composed of covers by artists that influenced Exhumed. The first album to feature bassist Leon del Muerte, guitarist Wes Caley and the only ...
'' (2005) *''
All Guts, No Glory ''All Guts, No Glory'' is the fifth full-length album by death metal band Exhumed, and the first since their 2010 reformation. It was released on July 5, 2011, by Relapse Records. Dane Prokofiev of PopMatters said the album is capable of "remin ...
'' (2011) *''
Necrocracy ''Necrocracy'' is the sixth studio album by American death metal band Exhumed. The album was released on August 2, 2013, by Relapse Records. A music video was released for the lead single, "Coins upon the Eyes". The album was described by front ...
'' (2013) *''Death Revenge'' (2017) *''Horror'' (2019) *''To the Dead'' (2022)


EPs and splits

* ''Excreting Innards'' (7-inch) (1992) * Split cassette with Haemorrhage (1995) * ''In the Name of Gore'' (split CD with Hemdale) (1996) * ''Blood And Alcohol'' (split 7-inch with Pale Existence) (1996) * ''Chords of Chaos'' (4-way split with Ear Bleeding Disorder, Necrose, and Excreted Alive) (1997) * ''Instruments of Hell'' (split 7-inch with
No Comply The no comply is a skateboarding trick that was invented by John Lucero and then named and popularized by the skater Neil Blender in the 1980s. Features and history To do the trick, the rider must plant his or her front foot and ''pop'' the board ...
) (1997) * ''Indignities to the Dead'' (split 7-inch with Pantalones Abajo Marinero) (1997) * ''Totally Fucking Dead'' (split 7-inch with Nyctophobic) (1998) * ''Tales of the Exhumed'' (split 7-inch with Retaliation) (1998) * Split 7-inch with Sanity's Dawn (2000) * Split 7-inch with Gadget (2001) * ''Deceased in the East/Extirpated Live Emanations'' (live split 10-inch with Aborted) (2003) * ''Something Sickened This Way Comes / To Clone and to Enforce'' (split 7-inch and mini-CD with Ingrowing) (2006) *
Exhumed/Iron Reagan ''Exhumed/Iron Reagan'' is a split EP released in 2014 by San Jose, California death metal band Exhumed and Richmond, Virginia crossover thrash band Iron Reagan Iron Reagan is an American crossover thrash supergroup from Richmond, Virginia, co ...
(2014) Tankcrimes Records * ''Twisted Horror'' (10-inch split with Gruesome) (2020)
Relapse Records Relapse Records is an American independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990. The label features many grindcore, death metal, metalcore and sludge metal artists. History The label w ...
* ''Worming'' (2021)


Compilations

*''
Platters of Splatter ''Platters of Splatter'' is a double CD compilation album of early recordings by deathgrind band Exhumed. Track listing Disc one – ''First Course'' # "Horrendous Member Dismemberment" # "Septicemia (Festering Sphinctral Mallignancy Part II)" ...
'' (
double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...
) (2004)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Exhumed Deathgrind musical groups Death metal musical groups from California Political music groups Relapse Records artists Musical groups from San Jose, California Listenable Records artists