Band:	The Meads Of Asphodel
Album:	Exhuming The Grave Of Jeshua
Style:	Experimental black metal
Release date:	September 2003
A review by:	Undercraft

01. Intro - Exhuming The Grave Of Yeshua
02. God Is Rome
03. Blood Blasted Holy War
04. 80 Grains Of Sand
05. Guts For Sale
06. Utopia [Hawkwind cover]
07. Sons Of Anak Rise
08. A Healer Made God
09. Sluts Of The Netherworld
10. On Graven Images I Glide Beyond The Monstrous Gates Of Pandemonium To Face The Baptized Warriors Of Yahweh In The Skull Littered Plain Of Esdraelon
11. Book Of Dreams

What can you expect from a band all dressed up in medieval costumes? Folk? Viking? Either choice is quite predictable, but wrong. The Meads Of Asphodel is a bad that defies classification, although it could be described as Black Metal with a wide array of outer influences such as Punk, Techno and Medieval music.

As soon I put the Cd the mandatory useless intro began, and as I predicted, it was? useless (we never get cool intros anymore), after that, first real track "God Is Rome" began to sound in my speakers and I was totally blown away with the Punk Black Metal sound of the song, is like Hellhammer meets the Ramones.

"Blood Blasted Holy War" is another weird song with many electro and techno influences, while "80 Grains Of Sand" has a Heavy Metal edge to it, mixed with the ever-present Black Metal influences (great riff!). "A Healer Made God" starts quite good with aggressive riffing, then it just gets better with a psychedelic Santana/Pink Floyd style guitar solo, short, but effective. Crossing into Avant-gardism is "Sons Of Anak Rise" weird song with a lot of changes and moods, ingenious songwriting mixed with sheer aggression, what else could you ask?

I was expecting something else, and I bet you too, but that's the thing that keeps us entertained and interested in the Metal scene, the search for new, original and underrated bands, always looking for that record that blow our brains out.
This is weird, it's Black Metal, it's Avant-garde, it's Punk, it's Techno, It's Medieval, it's The Meads Of Asphodel.