Review by Felix on December 5, 2019.

Come on dudes, you're kidding. The cover song of Grip Inc.'s ingenious classic "Hostage to Heaven" - inter alia with a guest appearance of Waldemar Sorychta, the composer and original guitarist of Grip Inc. - does not sound like an "exumerized" version but like the original tune with unexplainable minor flaws. Does it make sense? Definitely not. It just shows that even a good singer like Mem cannot hold a candle to the performance of Gus Chambers, the charismatic guy with the mohawk haircut who stole the metal community a fantastic lead vocalist by committing suicide. To change a well-known phrase of the Scorpions: Still missing you. However, this review is not about Gus. Of course, the fourth album of the semi-legendary Exumer is the matter.

The aforementioned cover tune is one of two bonus tracks and both songs are, to be honest, of minor importance. Allow me to exclude them from the evaluation. What counts are the ten new songs that Exumer have written. Some open-minded dudes will criticize that the group hates innovation and delivers only pure old-school. I say: this is the only school. (You call me an old ignorant bastard? My wife agrees.) High velocity marries lacerating riffs. The recipe is pretty simple, but the impact should not be underestimated. Large parts of the album are close to perfection, although the title track seems to be derived from Sepultura's "Arise". But that's no cardinal sin. More interesting is that Exumer like high speed sections, but they also do not shy away from songs which are based on mid-paced rhythms. "Shadow Walker" is an excellent example for this kind of approach. The bone-dry riffing reveals a merciless stringency and the decision against high speed does not affect the brusqueness of the number. Perhaps it sounds cynical, but it makes me happy that this band is always angry. Due to the emotional state of the guys, it is only logical that the abrasive "Catatonic" heralds the power of well-constructed mid-tempo tunes as well. An almost painfully simple riff and a precise chorus complement each other very well. Nevertheless, "Shadow Walker" is the slightly stronger mid-tempo assault.

Multi-talent Waldemar Sorychta has produced the album. Do I really need to say more? A merciless transparency meets cold brutality. As mentioned above, many songs are close to perfection, but the godlike production is definitely immaculate. It expresses the uncompromising ferocity of the ingenious sub-genre and bears the unmistakable signature of its maker. The result is that Mem's powerful voice has plenty of room to develop its full force and the same goes for each and every instrument. Needless to add that the guitars leave the most sustainable impression.

I was speaking about Sorychta's signature, but Exumer's dynamic tracks are also very typical. The vigorous band relies on its well-known song-writing formula. For example, the excellent "Sinister Souls", a mind-blowing thrash explosion, has a discreet touch of "Xiron Darkstar", one of the best pieces of their debut. The straight "Brand of Evil" with its rasping guitars and the effective chorus takes no prisoners and "Welcome to Hellfire" presents a clever tribute to Slayer after the "Decimating all in sight"-part. All these songs have in common that they are driven by the restlessly beaten drums and the list of extremely convincing speedsters could go on. Believe me, "There Will Always Be Blood", to name just one further example, possesses brilliant riffs, too. However, the crucial thing is that Exumer still have the necessary degree of conviction to present furious thrashers which endanger the listener's neck musculature. With regard to the careers of many comparable formations, this is unfortunately not a matter of course. Anyway, it feels good to listen to this detonation of thrash that avoids the use of keyboards, acoustic guitars and any other useless instruments.

The Raging Tides provides evidence that the initial wave of German thrash metal has not yet ebbed away. Exumer in their present form convey the spirit of the metallic mid-eighties that was based on enthusiasm, pioneering spirit and purity. I am talking about the glorious years before the role models had a lot of "good ideas" that followed the changing perspective of the eternal cocksucker called zeitgeist. You surely know this kind of ideas. Their execution resulted in lukewarm albums which did absolutely not work. It is not necessary to mention names in this context. I bet that even the guys of Flotsam & Jetsam share my point of view.

Rating: 8.9 out of 10

Review by Felix on December 5, 2019.

Come on dudes, you're kidding. The cover song of Grip Inc.'s ingenious classic "Hostage to Heaven" - inter alia with a guest appearance of Waldemar Sorychta, the composer and original guitarist of Grip Inc. - does not sound like an "exumerized" version but like the original tune with unexplainable minor flaws. Does it make sense? Definitely not. It just shows that even a good singer like Mem cannot hold a candle to the performance of Gus Chambers, the charismatic guy with the mohawk haircut who stole the metal community a fantastic lead vocalist by committing suicide. To change a well-known phrase of the Scorpions: Still missing you. However, this review is not about Gus. Of course, the fourth album of the semi-legendary Exumer is the matter.

The aforementioned cover tune is one of two bonus tracks and both songs are, to be honest, of minor importance. Allow me to exclude them from the evaluation. What counts are the ten new songs that Exumer have written. Some open-minded dudes will criticize that the group hates innovation and delivers only pure old-school. I say: this is the only school. (You call me an old ignorant bastard? My wife agrees.) High velocity marries lacerating riffs. The recipe is pretty simple, but the impact should not be underestimated. Large parts of the album are close to perfection, although the title track seems to be derived from Sepultura's "Arise". But that's no cardinal sin. More interesting is that Exumer like high speed sections, but they also do not shy away from songs which are based on mid-paced rhythms. "Shadow Walker" is an excellent example for this kind of approach. The bone-dry riffing reveals a merciless stringency and the decision against high speed does not affect the brusqueness of the number. Perhaps it sounds cynical, but it makes me happy that this band is always angry. Due to the emotional state of the guys, it is only logical that the abrasive "Catatonic" heralds the power of well-constructed mid-tempo tunes as well. An almost painfully simple riff and a precise chorus complement each other very well. Nevertheless, "Shadow Walker" is the slightly stronger mid-tempo assault.

Multi-talent Waldemar Sorychta has produced the album. Do I really need to say more? A merciless transparency meets cold brutality. As mentioned above, many songs are close to perfection, but the godlike production is definitely immaculate. It expresses the uncompromising ferocity of the ingenious sub-genre and bears the unmistakable signature of its maker. The result is that Mem's powerful voice has plenty of room to develop its full force and the same goes for each and every instrument. Needless to add that the guitars leave the most sustainable impression.

I was speaking about Sorychta's signature, but Exumer's dynamic tracks are also very typical. The vigorous band relies on its well-known song-writing formula. For example, the excellent "Sinister Souls", a mind-blowing thrash explosion, has a discreet touch of "Xiron Darkstar", one of the best pieces of their debut. The straight "Brand of Evil" with its rasping guitars and the effective chorus takes no prisoners and "Welcome to Hellfire" presents a clever tribute to Slayer after the "Decimating all in sight"-part. All these songs have in common that they are driven by the restlessly beaten drums and the list of extremely convincing speedsters could go on. Believe me, "There Will Always Be Blood", to name just one further example, possesses brilliant riffs, too. However, the crucial thing is that Exumer still have the necessary degree of conviction to present furious thrashers which endanger the listener's neck musculature. With regard to the careers of many comparable formations, this is unfortunately not a matter of course. Anyway, it feels good to listen to this detonation of thrash that avoids the use of keyboards, acoustic guitars and any other useless instruments.

The Raging Tides provides evidence that the initial wave of German thrash metal has not yet ebbed away. Exumer in their present form convey the spirit of the metallic mid-eighties that was based on enthusiasm, pioneering spirit and purity. I am talking about the glorious years before the role models had a lot of "good ideas" that followed the changing perspective of the eternal cocksucker called zeitgeist. You surely know this kind of ideas. Their execution resulted in lukewarm albums which did absolutely not work. It is not necessary to mention names in this context. I bet that even the guys of Flotsam & Jetsam share my point of view.

Rating: 8.9 out of 10

Review by Felix on December 5, 2019.

Come on dudes, you're kidding. The cover song of Grip Inc.'s ingenious classic "Hostage to Heaven" - inter alia with a guest appearance of Waldemar Sorychta, the composer and original guitarist of Grip Inc. - does not sound like an "exumerized" version but like the original tune with unexplainable minor flaws. Does it make sense? Definitely not. It just shows that even a good singer like Mem cannot hold a candle to the performance of Gus Chambers, the charismatic guy with the mohawk haircut who stole the metal community a fantastic lead vocalist by committing suicide. To change a well-known phrase of the Scorpions: Still missing you. However, this review is not about Gus. Of course, the fourth album of the semi-legendary Exumer is the matter.

The aforementioned cover tune is one of two bonus tracks and both songs are, to be honest, of minor importance. Allow me to exclude them from the evaluation. What counts are the ten new songs that Exumer have written. Some open-minded dudes will criticize that the group hates innovation and delivers only pure old-school. I say: this is the only school. (You call me an old ignorant bastard? My wife agrees.) High velocity marries lacerating riffs. The recipe is pretty simple, but the impact should not be underestimated. Large parts of the album are close to perfection, although the title track seems to be derived from Sepultura's "Arise". But that's no cardinal sin. More interesting is that Exumer like high speed sections, but they also do not shy away from songs which are based on mid-paced rhythms. "Shadow Walker" is an excellent example for this kind of approach. The bone-dry riffing reveals a merciless stringency and the decision against high speed does not affect the brusqueness of the number. Perhaps it sounds cynical, but it makes me happy that this band is always angry. Due to the emotional state of the guys, it is only logical that the abrasive "Catatonic" heralds the power of well-constructed mid-tempo tunes as well. An almost painfully simple riff and a precise chorus complement each other very well. Nevertheless, "Shadow Walker" is the slightly stronger mid-tempo assault.

Multi-talent Waldemar Sorychta has produced the album. Do I really need to say more? A merciless transparency meets cold brutality. As mentioned above, many songs are close to perfection, but the godlike production is definitely immaculate. It expresses the uncompromising ferocity of the ingenious sub-genre and bears the unmistakable signature of its maker. The result is that Mem's powerful voice has plenty of room to develop its full force and the same goes for each and every instrument. Needless to add that the guitars leave the most sustainable impression.

I was speaking about Sorychta's signature, but Exumer's dynamic tracks are also very typical. The vigorous band relies on its well-known song-writing formula. For example, the excellent "Sinister Souls", a mind-blowing thrash explosion, has a discreet touch of "Xiron Darkstar", one of the best pieces of their debut. The straight "Brand of Evil" with its rasping guitars and the effective chorus takes no prisoners and "Welcome to Hellfire" presents a clever tribute to Slayer after the "Decimating all in sight"-part. All these songs have in common that they are driven by the restlessly beaten drums and the list of extremely convincing speedsters could go on. Believe me, "There Will Always Be Blood", to name just one further example, possesses brilliant riffs, too. However, the crucial thing is that Exumer still have the necessary degree of conviction to present furious thrashers which endanger the listener's neck musculature. With regard to the careers of many comparable formations, this is unfortunately not a matter of course. Anyway, it feels good to listen to this detonation of thrash that avoids the use of keyboards, acoustic guitars and any other useless instruments.

The Raging Tides provides evidence that the initial wave of German thrash metal has not yet ebbed away. Exumer in their present form convey the spirit of the metallic mid-eighties that was based on enthusiasm, pioneering spirit and purity. I am talking about the glorious years before the role models had a lot of "good ideas" that followed the changing perspective of the eternal cocksucker called zeitgeist. You surely know this kind of ideas. Their execution resulted in lukewarm albums which did absolutely not work. It is not necessary to mention names in this context. I bet that even the guys of Flotsam & Jetsam share my point of view.

Rating: 8.9 out of 10

Review by Felix on December 5, 2019.

Come on dudes, you're kidding. The cover song of Grip Inc.'s ingenious classic "Hostage to Heaven" - inter alia with a guest appearance of Waldemar Sorychta, the composer and original guitarist of Grip Inc. - does not sound like an "exumerized" version but like the original tune with unexplainable minor flaws. Does it make sense? Definitely not. It just shows that even a good singer like Mem cannot hold a candle to the performance of Gus Chambers, the charismatic guy with the mohawk haircut who stole the metal community a fantastic lead vocalist by committing suicide. To change a well-known phrase of the Scorpions: Still missing you. However, this review is not about Gus. Of course, the fourth album of the semi-legendary Exumer is the matter.

The aforementioned cover tune is one of two bonus tracks and both songs are, to be honest, of minor importance. Allow me to exclude them from the evaluation. What counts are the ten new songs that Exumer have written. Some open-minded dudes will criticize that the group hates innovation and delivers only pure old-school. I say: this is the only school. (You call me an old ignorant bastard? My wife agrees.) High velocity marries lacerating riffs. The recipe is pretty simple, but the impact should not be underestimated. Large parts of the album are close to perfection, although the title track seems to be derived from Sepultura's "Arise". But that's no cardinal sin. More interesting is that Exumer like high speed sections, but they also do not shy away from songs which are based on mid-paced rhythms. "Shadow Walker" is an excellent example for this kind of approach. The bone-dry riffing reveals a merciless stringency and the decision against high speed does not affect the brusqueness of the number. Perhaps it sounds cynical, but it makes me happy that this band is always angry. Due to the emotional state of the guys, it is only logical that the abrasive "Catatonic" heralds the power of well-constructed mid-tempo tunes as well. An almost painfully simple riff and a precise chorus complement each other very well. Nevertheless, "Shadow Walker" is the slightly stronger mid-tempo assault.

Multi-talent Waldemar Sorychta has produced the album. Do I really need to say more? A merciless transparency meets cold brutality. As mentioned above, many songs are close to perfection, but the godlike production is definitely immaculate. It expresses the uncompromising ferocity of the ingenious sub-genre and bears the unmistakable signature of its maker. The result is that Mem's powerful voice has plenty of room to develop its full force and the same goes for each and every instrument. Needless to add that the guitars leave the most sustainable impression.

I was speaking about Sorychta's signature, but Exumer's dynamic tracks are also very typical. The vigorous band relies on its well-known song-writing formula. For example, the excellent "Sinister Souls", a mind-blowing thrash explosion, has a discreet touch of "Xiron Darkstar", one of the best pieces of their debut. The straight "Brand of Evil" with its rasping guitars and the effective chorus takes no prisoners and "Welcome to Hellfire" presents a clever tribute to Slayer after the "Decimating all in sight"-part. All these songs have in common that they are driven by the restlessly beaten drums and the list of extremely convincing speedsters could go on. Believe me, "There Will Always Be Blood", to name just one further example, possesses brilliant riffs, too. However, the crucial thing is that Exumer still have the necessary degree of conviction to present furious thrashers which endanger the listener's neck musculature. With regard to the careers of many comparable formations, this is unfortunately not a matter of course. Anyway, it feels good to listen to this detonation of thrash that avoids the use of keyboards, acoustic guitars and any other useless instruments.

The Raging Tides provides evidence that the initial wave of German thrash metal has not yet ebbed away. Exumer in their present form convey the spirit of the metallic mid-eighties that was based on enthusiasm, pioneering spirit and purity. I am talking about the glorious years before the role models had a lot of "good ideas" that followed the changing perspective of the eternal cocksucker called zeitgeist. You surely know this kind of ideas. Their execution resulted in lukewarm albums which did absolutely not work. It is not necessary to mention names in this context. I bet that even the guys of Flotsam & Jetsam share my point of view.

Rating: 8.9 out of 10

Review by Lynxie on April 24, 2022.

Oh great, Silverlane has taken that inevitable step melodic power metal bands tend to take - they have made that AOR/hard rock tinged power metal album. Perhaps I should have seen it coming when I'd heard 'Ready To Rock' back on Above The Others, but I guess I was hoping for some twist of luck. At least some of the songs here tickled my fancy, or it would've scored even lower.

Opening with 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', another totally unnecessary intro with their first appliance of child's vocal, the album had already gone low in my esteem. But my opinion had improved by the end of 'I Universe' because, well, to put it simply, I love a good banging riff, and the bassline is pretty obvious as well. Overall, I'm getting a huge Dynazty vibe off the majority of their song structures and riff progression - punchy, banging verses followed by a highly catchy chorus, then the somewhat heavier and slower bridge leading to the solo and the chorus again. The solos here served, but they're nothing complicated. The loss of their keyboardist seemed to have no obvious influence on their usage of keyboards and synth. Indeed, I do find the synth a bit overwhelming, even when they pushed the dynamics well enough. At least they hadn't turned into disco metal, yet. For that I'm grateful. But the piano ballad 'Soul Of Tears' sure had limp and boring written all over it. Now, some of the rhythms here are truly poppy. Am I talking about that verse on 'Leviathan Rising'? Probably.

Usually I don't complain about lyrics, because most of them tend to slip my attention anyways. And I have yet to make up my mind whether to laugh or to cringe at "Lazy fat cheeks don't think revolution" (Leviathan Rising). But that little chorus on 'Scorched Earth' had stirred my annoyance. It's just "All that we get" with a bit of "gonna" thrown in as a variant - not very much of a change, if you asked me. And the child's vocals don't help in the least. Perhaps I'm just a bit sensitive after Hammerfall's "Reveries". Even if it's catchy as hell, I'm still annoyed at its simplicity

Of course, I am relatively impressed with Tommy Klossek's performance. He's not fundamentally different from their former mic-wielder, being also rather raspy and nasally, with some AOR vibe thrown in as well. I was thinking of describing him as a slightly harsher Nils Molin or a more melodic, more poppy Chris Boltendahl. But both the husky whispers he had used, and the synthetic effect added to his voice at some points are a shade cringy. To sound like a heavy metal version of Orden Ogan is totally unnecessary.

Sometimes, I just wonder, why is it that almost every melodic power has that heavily AOR/hard rock influenced phase? Granted, not all of them are unenjoyable, because sometimes a good punchy rhythm is the only thing needed to quip my interest and keep me going on listening. But the majority of them just can't stand any constant playing. Sure, some songs stand above the others and there's no denying that they're bloody brainwashing. Yet the rest just tend to fade into the background. Besides, some of them just come too close to pop for my comfort. And somehow Silverlane had managed just all that here on Inside Internal Infinity - some disappointment.

Highlights: 'Blessed', 'Hero Inn Sunset Club', 'Leviathan Rising'

Rating: 7.9 out of 10