Getting a new Pyrrhon record is always a special occasion, but getting a new Pyrrhon record as a shadow-drop is the craziest thing to happen in the metalsphere in 2024. For the uninitiated, Pyrrhon are at heart a technical death metal band. However, just labeling them as “tech death” is woefully inaccurate. Sure, for their breakout hit The Mother of Virtues, calling that purely tech death is understandable, but Pyrrhon delved deeper into other sounds for their follow-ups: from the mathy jazzy avant-garde death metal of What Passes for Survival to the seething, roiling anger of Abscess Time, they’ve been genre-hopping for a while now. Exhaust continues this trend, and this time Pyrrhon sound more pissed off than ever before.
“…Fuck man, I just wanna go home” vocalist Doug Moore lambasts on “The Greatest City on Earth.” Thematically, Exhaust channels the most pissed-off version of Pyrrhon I’ve ever heard into a thirty-eight minute record, a record made by people broken down by the ever-growing financial strains of living in their home of New York City. Exhaust channels this by adding a liberal dose of hardcore into the normally skronk-heavy death metal Pyrrhon is known and loved for. While the previous outing Abscess Time was impressive, Pyrrhon made sure to fire on all cylinders for this new album. Utilizing the excellent production skills of Colin Marston, every member’s top notch performance comes through clearly, whether it be the prominent bass performance of Erik Malave, the guitar wizardry of Dylan DiLella, or the frankly ridiculous drum work of Steve Schwegler. “Out of Gas” showcases this best by being the most technically ridiculous number on Exhaust, which starts slow and builds into an explosion of riffs, all the while being propelled by thick, rumbling bass and tight-yet-tasteful indulgent drumming. Here, Moore, in turn, transforms his vocals from a narrated cadence to defeated, anguished screams, screams which continue throughout the rest of the album.
I wasn’t expecting a new Pyrrhon album to come this year, but it came at an excellent time when everyone is feeling the burnout of post-COVID and a return to a sense of normalcy. People are pissed that cost of living is so high, and Exhaust is a record for the people. I haven’t listened to something that resonates so clearly with me in quite some time, and while this isn’t my favorite Pyrrhon (that still being What Passes for Survival), it easily tops the charts of anything in the avant-garde/weird death metal niche this year. If all you want in death metal is the sound of resignation and utter contempt, look no further, because you ain’t finding anything angrier this year than Exhaust.
