When EXHORDER first came into focus, they were deemed one of the heaviest Thrash Metal bands on the planet. As they mixed their Metal with a Punk attitude and Hardcore influences, it just flew over a lot of heads, including mine. I had my bunch of Thrash Metal bands I liked, and somehow EXHORDER never entered that frame. I even admit to not having listened to any of their other albums, so “Defectum Omnium” is popping my EXHORDER cherry. And to be honest, I don’t know if I have to put it down to getting used to a lot more Extremely Heavy Metal during the years or if it is due to the band mellowing out just a tad, I can only say that “Defectum Omnium” is a fine album to listen to.

EXHORDER started life in 1985 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, but it took until 1990 until debut album “Slaughter In The Vatican” was released, followed by “The Law” in 1992. The band split in 1994, came back briefly in 1998 and in 2003, before they reconvened in 2009, only to quit again in 2011. Finally in 2017 they regrouped properly, which has resulted in “Mourn The Southern Skies” in 2019. Now, shy of five years later, we are able to listen to more new music, brought to us by EXHORDER on “Defectum Omnium”.

It is immediately apparent that we are dealing with a very experienced group of musicians that know how to write, play, arrange and record good songs. I say that because “Defectum Omnium” is full of them. Actually, I will dare to as far as to acknowledge that there are no fillers on this album. All 54 minutes are used to give you everything from very fast (“Wrath of Prophecies”) to rather slow and melancholic (“The Tale of Unsound Minds”, where I swear you can hear the swamp!) and everything in between.

Is “Defectum Omnium” a brilliant Thrash metal album and have EXHORDER suddenly entered the Premier League of Thrash? The answer to both is no, but with a distinction. Like I said, the songs and music are top notch, but sometimes just a tad too simple for my taste. As for the band, I feel that through all the new blood that is entering the Thrash Metal market, they should be noticed and acknowledged as one of those bands who have been groundbreaking in their sound, which hopefully will result in full acceptance within the Metal community. EXHORDER deserves nothing less.