EXHUMED – Red Asphalt

RELEASE YEAR: 2026
BAND URL: https://exhumed.bandcamp.com/album/red-asphalt

The purveyors of all things gory and unpleasant, namely US death/grind metal freaks Exhumed, are back with a punishing new record titled Red Asphalt, which essentially refers to all manner of horrors and terrors associated with the “American roadway” to borrow a phrase from vocalist/guitarist Matt Harvey.  

The ten bone-crushing tracks that constitute this LP blend death metal and grindcore efficiently and to great effect, and in terms of musicianship and song arrangements, there is very little lacking. The song material is concise, energetic, and goes straight for your throat, but there is also plenty of variety throughout not mention some killer slow-burning passages that reek of darkness and foreboding, which the title track and “Shovelhead” are good examples of. There is both grit and grime within the compositions, and the slightly murky production enhances the atmosphere of dread and disaster that permeates the whole wretched thing. The punchy “Death on Four Wheels” is another prime cut in that it fuses groove with instantly catchy riffs, and the same pretty much applies to the driven and crushing closing piece titled “The Fumes.”  

Current fans of Exhumed will undoubtedly be satisfied by the bloodred content of the disc, but due to pit-starting bangers such as “Shock Trauma” and the blistering “The Iron Graveyard” it would serve as a good introduction to the group’s particular brand of lethal metal for newcomers too. Only a couple of tunes lack longevity, charisma, and memorable qualities here. Muscular-sounding, utterly confident, and morbidly entertaining without reinventing anything or changing the formula – that just about sums up what this aggressive fucker offers in the overall perspective.