It’s only been 5 years since their last offering, so nearly 6 times shorter than the last wait we had to endure. But sadly this time Vinnie LaBella isn’t returning, so it’s just Kyle Thomas from the original line up with Sasha Horn and Jason VieBrooks resuming the duties they’ve fulfilled since 2017, but with Jason adding guitar to his bass duties. and new guitarist Pat O’Brien, well new to Exhorder but no stranger to the scene.
The album opens with a bang and “Wrath of Prophecies” is full of venom and delivered at pace by Sasha with Pat and Jason shredding happily along with the drums. Kyle’s vocals switch from moody to acerbic with absolutely no difficulty.
“Under the Gaslight” is where Kyle also adds guitars to his repertoire, and while the song isn’t blisteringly fast, it’s definitely not as slow as some of the other tracks later on the album.
Picking up the pace is “Forever and Beyond Despair”, where Kyle’s vocals are more of a harsh cry, than the gruff growl, to match the punkier vibe of the song, even if the lead solo is definitely metal.
The slow and doomy “The Tale of Unsound Minds” showcases Kyle’s singing ability as he hits some high notes as the chugging guitars replace speed with heaviness, for the most part. The lead break seems to keep climbing higher as the speed increases, before the summit is reached and the pace plateaus once more for an exquisite bass lead.
Sasha’s strong tempo on “Divide and Conquer” allows for the guitars to churn out their rhythm and slip in and out of lead breaks unperturbed about when to return.
Sounding a little like Slayer from the very early 80s, the intro for “Year of the Goat” drops into the song itself with a faster, heavier, and deeper sound to replace the intentional tinny sound, and in the video for this first single from the album we got to see Kyle playing guitar for the first time.
There’s an almost familiar Exhorder riff to “Taken by Flames”, but it just seems to scrape the surface rather than play it in full, but as soon as the song gets faster that becomes irrelevant as you’re just holding on as you’re rushed along in its swirling maelstrom.
Title track “Defectum Omnium/Stolen Hope” is a lengthy broody affair, filled with plenty of mood swings represented by guitar and bass lead breaks, as Kyle’s voice feels like it’s about to break with anguish, it slips into the acoustical opening of “Three Stages of Truth/Lacing the Well” before that took crescendos into a rougher riff with more abrasive vocals over the faster rhythm.
The punky bass intro for “Sedition” remains as the undercurrent of the song and comes to the fore each time the guitars and drums fade out for a moment before kicking back to life, but not at quire the same pace the use on “Desensitized” where Sasha’s footwork is mesmerising and his sharp snare sound cuts through everything like a scythe.
Trouble guitarists Rick Wartell and Bruce Franklin lay down some leads for “Your Six”, which is a gentle and melodic number to end the album on.
I found this album to be far more straightforward in its aggression, and while there are some great doomier moments, the subtle nuances of the earlier guitar work is sorely missed. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still going to enjoy listening to this over and over again.
(8/10 Marco Gaminara)
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