Though I didn’t review Hexorcist’s debut album, Evil Reaping Death, upon its 2021 release for this here outlet, I did explore it not long after, if only at the suggestion of trusted metallists who kept comparing it to unsung first generation death metal kings, Necrovore. Considering we were knee deep in an era of bands who seemed hellbent on aping Entombed, Bolt Thrower, or Mortician, it was refreshing to hear a band who didn’t fall into said trappings while simultaneously schooling the youngsters on a lost art. As I’ve said countless times, too many modern death metal bands hyper-fixate on who can growl the deepest, shred the most notes, and blast the fastest, all the while draining the soul of the music itself. Such is not the case for Hexorcist.
On their sophomore outing, Crucificial Imprecations, the band returns leaner and meaner than ever, picking up right where they left off on their ripping debut. It also happens to be their first album with Gene Palubicki of Angelcorpse and Perdition Temple infamy on vocals, which does add significant credibility for a band pursuing this sound, to say the least. We’re given 8 songs of nonstop, utter insanity-inducing pure death with zero room to breathe whatsoever, and while Hexorcist aren’t the only band this summer pursuing this sound (see Goetia), I’d argue they accomplish such with a greater sense of focus than their peers.
The front half of the album, particularly the opening title cut and “Defacing Deities”, grind and blast their way in a brutish, semi-blackened death manner akin to the aforementioned Angelcorpse and early Sarcófago. The drumming and riffing tend to blur together, while Palubicki unleashes his signature blasphemous rasps and growls. Meanwhile, guitarist Hexorcist III melts faces with some wildly unhinged soloing reminiscent of Trey Azagthoth in his heyday, which he takes even further as the album progresses. “Emissary of Evil” and “Adverse Sacraments” ease more into the Necrovore meets Morbid Angel vein that dominated the debut, reminding us that whatever black metal undertones we hear throughout are simply that: undertones.
Come the back half, Hexorcist goes full blown ’80s death metal mode, assaulting our eardrums with riffs, solos, and arrangements lifted straight out of death metal’s infancy circa ’85-’87. “Deconsecration” and “Hexorcist” see the band conjuring the frenzy of Seven Churches era Possessed, death-thrashing around with an emphasis on the former and an attitude that can almost be described as anthemic, or at least as anthemic as first wave death metal worship can get. “Unconsecrated Offerings” fuses this Possessed ethos with blasting Angelcorpse-esque outbursts, while the closing “Exordium of Profanation” brings things to a frantic close, splitting us in two with an unrelenting explosion of classic blackened death.
Although Cruicificial Imprecations does a lot of the same over the course of its 8 song, 30 minute runtime, it gets out of dodge before ever becoming tired or played out. It’s everything a true death metaller would’ve gone wild about 40 years ago, and would still go wild over today. These songs have been imprinted by the hand of Pazuzu himself, thrashing about in all their breakneck, feral, and unholy glory. Oh, and did I mention this band hails from the death metal capital of the world, Miami, Florida? Clearly, there’s still something in the water!
8 out of 10
Label: Invictus Productions
Genre: Death Metal
For fans of: Necrovore, Morbid Angel, Possessed
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