Album Review: Cerebral Hemorrhage – Exempting Reality (Comatose Music)

Originally released back in 2001, ‘Exempting Reality’ was the only album released by New York’s Cerebral Hemorrhage and has been mostly lost to time. Until now, where Comatose Music has broken open Exempting Reality’s tomb. Remastered by Colin Davis (Aborted, Defeated Sanity, Origin etc), with new cover art, Exempting Reality is an album reborn and will be released (again) on January 17th, 2025.

I was 17 years old in 2001 and still in the thralls of nu-metal. That version of me would have been horrified by what Cerebral Hemorrhage had to offer with Exempting Reality, that much is for sure. Hell, 40-year-old me is still a bit horrified. Such is the ugly, unkempt, and uncaring nature of the record. Colin Davis has done miracles here, remastering a sound that is nearly a quarter of a decade old and was likely not a top-shelf recording originally either. Still, while his work can be greatly admired, it’s still a harsh listen, notably the tinniness of the drums.

Get over that, and what you’ll find is a brutish showcase of death metal at its filthiest. Seven tracks that make your skin crawl, create hot flushes of fear, and leave you feeling like you’ve picked up some horrid disease just by hearing them. The numerous references and samplings of Pet Semetary dialogue sure helps that.

All that being said, there are some moments where the album surprises by getting a little odd. Even if a cacophony of mutilating heaviness comes with force via Beaten and Dismembered, and Abusive Power (where a bit of blackened power enters the fray). It’s Remnants of the Final Solution, a track that has wickedness running through it, that offers up the first surprise with a sudden shift into discombobulating melody. It’s really strange, but it does grab the attention and doesn’t overstay its welcome.

If you’re after the heavy and nothing else though, Null and Void will not disappoint even though there is a bit more creative flair here. Which is in stark contrast to Exempting Reality, a garish and grim blast of blackened brutality. Then there is Deranged Perception, a track that was slamming before slam was really a thing. Before the album closes out with one last ugly blast of extreme.

Few would have been asking for this remaster and re-release, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone unhappy that it has been.

Cerebral Hemorrhage – Exempting Reality Track Listing:

1. Beaten and Dismembered
2. Abusive Power
3. Remnants of the Final Solution
4. Null and Void
5. Exempting Reality
6. Deranged Perception
7. Resulting in Homicide

Links

Instagram | Comatose Music