“But Cosmo,” you say while adjusting your glasses, “that’s not the band’s full name!” True, it’s not. But for the sake of brevity, we’re going to refer to Eximperituserqethhzebibšiptugakkathšulweliarzaxułum as simply Eximperitus from now on. Cool? Cool. Anyway, they’re finally back, and their new album Meritoriousness of Equanimity brings more of the majestic riff-craft these Belarusians are known for. Their debut album, released back in 2016, and having a title so long I’m not even going to bother typing, was solid, but they really hit their stride with Šahrartu back in 2021. Eximperitus refined their sound on this, creating an Egyptian-sounding mystic tone that was really easy to imagine being played for the gods of old. Initially I expected Meritoriousness of Equanimity to be out by now, but delays are common in extreme metal, and now that I’ve had a chance to listen, I can safely say that Eximperitus haven’t lost their edge for delivering absolutely fantastic riffs.
It seems almost fitting that Eximperitus recite their full name at the beginning of “One Step Long Infinity”. because they proceed to absolutely crush the listener with mega fat riffs for the remainder of the relatively short first track. The leads and solos on Meritoriousness of Equanimity are where Eximperitus really shine though, because on later tracks such as “The Untimely Fruit of the Unsaid”, there’s an absolutely killer solo that nails exactly what I’m looking for in an Eximperitus track: a lead tone that sounds like it was designed to smite the unworthy into the dust. “Finding Consistency in the Fourth Quadrant of Eternity” on the other hand brings traces of ultimate heavyweight champion “Inqirad” from Šahrartu with the orgasmically awesome triple power chords these guys are so good at. Every proper track on Meritoriousness of Equanimity brings some form of heft and muscle, which is why the shortcomings on here sting more than they should.
Unfortunately, there are two major missteps Eximperitus makes: interlude tracks and the inclusion of clean vocals. “Molecular Disintegration of an Unattainable Solitary Will in a Vessel of Wisdom…as a Result of the Soul’s Aspiration to Break the Summed Up Set of Delusions of Reason… in the Course of a Personal Experience of Accepting the Imperfection of the World and Proving that Time Gets Rid of the Fragile and Leaves Invulnerable” at the very least (and yes, that’s the actual song title) has that gorgeous lead tone the whole way through while the other interlude with an equally long title does not, and both of them don’t really contribute much to the album other than little side parts. The clean vocals on “Finding Consistency in the Fourth Quadrant of Eternity” on the other hand are more than a little off-putting, and while the rest of the song is a riff monster, this vocal delivery sounds oddly similar as if Eximperitus hired the vocalist of The Killers circa 2004 (seriously, play this song then play “Somebody Told Me”, the resemblance is frightening) to perform a couple sections. It’s quite frankly weird and shouldn’t be there.
Nitpicks aside, Eximperitus have overall delivered again. Meritoriousness of Equanimity might not sound as polished as other technical death metal bands out there, but it really doesn’t need to when the lead and solo tones are absolutely gorgeous. The year is quite young, but Eximperitus have proved that they weren’t resting on their laurels in their five year absence since Šahrartu, and I would like to hear more from them soon. Hopefully on their next release they’ll finally ditch the interludes, and commit fully to battering the listener into the dirt.
