Exmortus

Exmortus fuse Bay Area thrash with progressive, death, neoclassical, and twin-guitar power-metal accents to create an already ferocious sound, positioning the quartet as the connective thread among Testament, Children of Bodom, Manowar, and Yngwie Malmsteen. After emerging in 2008, the group advanced from indie agitators to Prosthetic Records regulars, issuing the turbo-charged Ride Forth in 2016 and Sound of Steel in 2018 beside roster mates Skeletonwitch and Scale the Summit. Their sixth studio album, Necrophony, arrived in 2023 via Nuclear Blast.

Conan, handling vocals and guitar, and drummer Mario Moreno established the band in 2002 within Whittier, California. A string of demos and EPs preceded their 2007 contract with Heavy Artillery Records. The debut full-length, In Hatred's Flame, surfaced in 2008, with the follow-up Beyond the Fall of Time appearing in 2011. Two years later the quartet signed to Prosthetic and entered the studio with producer Zack Ohren—known for work with All Shall Perish, Warbringer, and Suffocation—to track their third release, Slave to the Sword, issued in 2014. Extensive roadwork with Flotsam and Jetsam and Dark Tranquillity ensued, after which Exmortus returned to Ohren for the 2016 fourth album Ride Forth. Mario Moreno exited at the close of 2017, prompting the enlistment of Warbringer’s Carlos Cruz for the fifth effort, Sound of Steel, released in 2018. On Necrophony the band delved into shadowy, classically rooted melodic death metal, marking their first outing for Nuclear Blast.