Has there ever been music that carries a smell? Yes! CEREBRAL HEMORRHAGE reeks of New York Death Metal. The remastered reissue of their 2001 “Exempting Reality” couldn’t capture the essence of that extreme music scene any better. It embodies everything that era brought to the table. Purely an onslaught of violence, this record presents an obnoxious wall of sound, contrasted only by even more brutal slam parts. There’s no guarantee your neurons will remain intact after enduring this magnificently horrendous album. “Is this praise or are you tearing the album apart?” a profane might ask. But my fellow extreme music lovers will agree: there’s no better way to compliment a record of this magnitude than by grinning in disgust at a nasty riff or a senselessly violent blast beat.

Lost in the sea of brutally extreme albums from its time, “Exempting Reality” has clawed its way back from the depths 24 years later. It serves as a grim reminder that the core of our craft as metalheads lies in channeling the most primal rage and raw anger into sound. This is music in its rawest, most gut-wrenching form, as opposed to the race for polished perfection and sonic beauty that modern bands so often lose themselves in. “Beaten and Dismembered” kicks off the party with a gruesome intro, setting a horrifying mood. The blast beats quickly follow, and they don’t relent until the groovy slam parts hit, reminding you it’s all about the groove. New Yorkers, undoubtedly blessed by being at the crossroads of hardcore and death metal, have given rise to some of the genre’s most twisted minds. This song perfectly exemplifies the craft of Brutal Death/Slam forefathers and legends like SUFFOCATION, INTERNAL BLEEDING, PYREXIA and SKINLESS.

And that’s just the opener. Song after song, the horrors keep coming, unrelenting and merciless. What truly sets this album apart, however, is its repeated use of melodies seemingly soothing your pain before hurling you back into gnarly violence. “Remnants of the Final Solution” does just that, teasing with a haunting melody before dragging you back into hell. As is the norm for this genre, the drums are executed in the most flawless of perfection, blasting like an unstoppable force. Colin Davis’s remastering work is outstanding, preserving the unrefined, plague-like pounding that defines the record. An album that rises from the dead to cement its place as a powerhouse of unapologetic, brainless violence.