For a moment I thought this was called We Are the Grim ‘Thong’, and I had some really odd visualizations going through my head, but I digress…
Exalted are a USBM act hailing from Chicago and they are eschewing the popular US obsessed, one man mope-fest style of black metal, and instead going for a more direct, grim and nihilistic form of traditional black metal, and while a solid release, it’s really nothing too horribly impressive.

Armed with the expected monikers (Azag, Baazigar, Arend, Hecubus), obscure profile, primal guitar tone and a dash of thrash, Exalted certainly deliver a high octane and frenetic display of gritty black/thrash metal, with the emphasis on the black, that thankfully never delves into the beer ‘n’ spikes form of black thrash and keep things squarely in the realm of hate ‘n’ spite fuelled tenacity.

But even with those elements coming into play as well as earthy yet gritty overall production, the end result is still and bit empty and average. The the song writing never delivers anything above a caustic yet mildly thrashy delivery of riffs (“And the Sky Turns Black”, “Conquered Shores”, “LND”) and tremolo laced blasts (“And the Cinders Tell the Tale”, “Morbid Eternity”, “Ride of the Black Horde”, “Tyranny of the Bitch Queen”) that never seem to rise into anything more memorable or attention getting, but rather settling in the realms of gnashingly noisy but forgetful.

Next to US acts like Averse Sefira, the reformed Absu, Exhausted Prayer, Cobalt, Natchmystium, Leviathan and such, as well as their always quality European peers, Exalted seem awfully mediocre and a bit redundant, but I have certainly heard worse (I’m looking at you Ensepulchred…)

[Visit the band's website]

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