Album Review: Exocrine – Maelstrom (Unique Leader Records)

Exocrine began life in Bordeaux (France) 2015 as the brainchild of prolific guitarist Sylvain Octor-Perez (ex-Son of Senoka), and have become a titanic force in Technical Death Metal.

Sylvain was quickly joined by Jordy Besse (bass and vocals), Nicolas La Rosa (guitar) and Antoine Fouré (drums) and they released their debut album Unreal Existence via Great Dane Records in October 2015. It took just a year for Exocrine to record their second album Ascension, which was released February 2017 via Great Dane Records.

Determined to grow within technical death metal, Exocrine joined Unique Leader Records for the release of their third album Molten Planet in 2018 and took to the stage with The Faceless, Obituary, Obscura, Archspire and more.

At the end of 2018, Théo Gendron joined the band on drums and they embarked on a French tour in 2019, appearing at Muscadeath and BelUSA Death Fest (Slovakia).

Stronger than ever, the quartet now return with their transcendental fourth album Maelstrom, set for release on 26th June via Unique Leader Records.

Like an ice-cold bucket of water thrown over your naked body while you sleep, Malestorm will leave you gasping and in shock. A brutal start, it’s utter tech-death carnage but not lacking detail and some audacious catchiness.

The bedlam continues into The Kraken and Wall of Water as Exocrine’s savage sound hits like a 100-foot tidal wave. The ruthlessness of the vocals, alongside white-hot riffs and a percussion section that is near inhuman sounding is astounding.

If your mind hasn’t already been reduced to jelly, the next handful of tracks will leave most a dribbling wreck. Abyssal Flesh and the ridiculous complexities of the guitars. The soloing and shredding of Orbital Station. The Wreck which jumps between squeals of pain and roars of revulsion. Before Starvation Project puts its djent hat on for a frightful slab of multifaceted death metal.

It’s a non-stop mugging that stays surprisingly focused, never really meandering off to do its own thing. This ensures boredom never sets in and makes the final duo of The Chosen One and Galactic Gods as exciting as the first few tracks. Although you might start to wonder about the true identities of Exorcrine. No human beings should be able to play to this level and with such consistency.

Exocrine – Maelstrom Full Track Listing:

1. Maelstrom
2. The Kraken
3. Wall Of Water
4. Abyssal Flesh
5. Orbital Station
6. The Wreck
7. Starvation Project
8. The Chosen One
9. Galactic Gods

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