Band:	Eximperitus
Album:	Šahrartu
Style:	Brutal death metal, Technical death metal
Release date:	January 29, 2021
A review by:	RaduP

01. Šahrartu
02. Utpāda
03. Tahâdu
04. Anhûtu
05. Inqirad
06. Riqûtu

I admit, it was a bit hard to take Eximperituserqethhzebibšiptugakkathšulweliarzaxułum seriously considering the band name and the webform breaking title of their first album. Something that's more gimmick than actual substance. So you can imagine I didn't go into Šahrartu expecting to be this impressed.

It's not like Prajecyrujučy sinhuliarnaje wypramieńwańnie Daktryny Absaliutnaha j Usiopahłynaĺnaha Zła skroź šaścihrannuju pryzmu Sîn-Ahhī-Erība na hipierpawierchniu zadyjakaĺnaha kaŭčęha zasnawaĺnikaŭ kosmatęchničnaha ordęna palieakantakta, najstaražytnyja ipastasi dawosiewych cywilizacyj prywodziać u ruch ręzanansny transfarmatar časowapadobnaj biaskoncaści budučyni u ćwiardyniach absierwatoryi Nwn-Hu-Kek-Amon, uwasabliajučy ŭ ęfirnuju matęryju prach Ałulima na zachad ad ękzapłaniety PSRB 1620-26b was a bad album by any means, but it's clear why most people listened to it, and it wasn't the musical value. But you have to admire the inventiveness of combining Latin, Byelorussian, and several other ancient Middle Eastern languages to go all the way as far as style goes. There was some substance, but Eximperitus (as they go by on most platforms despite not really changing their names), decide to cut back a bit on the style, but improve massively on the substance.

Cutting back on title lengths on both the album and the tracks themselves, all of them reduced to single words of exactly three syllables, which might be a gimmick too, but at least they fit on any string variable. And the songs are also longer, more atmospheric, and better produced. A pretty great difference those five years since their debut. So here we have Šahrartu, a more mature version of their unique brutal technical ancient sound of death metal. It might be a tired cliché to call things Lovecraftian, but it's clear that the band themselves are aiming for something in that direction, with this album in particular giving me recollections of The Nameless City, about the ruins of a city from an older civilization in the desert. Ancient civilizations and eldritch things beyond our grasp seem to be the name of the game for Šahrartu as well, even if it brings the sound a bit closer to our grasp.

It might've lost a bit of the appeal of the previous record and its rather unique production, but it doesn't feel much more streamlined or accessible. This is still technical and brutal death metal, but one that doesn't get lost within its own technical brutality, preferring to use it to enhance different aspects of its sound. Combined with the longer-form songwriting that prefers to leave some space, Šahrartu finds Eximperitus more concerned with creating an immersive atmosphere, as if you are there exploring the Nameless City that you've read about in that mad Abdul Alhazred's grimoire. It doesn't shy away from either repetition or angular free-form, as long as that brings you deeper inside. It's simply a tech death record that really knows how to use its songwriting to full extent. And I can't say that the cleaner production doesn't help.

I'm sure there will be some people who will prefer the denser and more otherworldly debut, or some people who will still find the brutal tech death element to not be their cup of tea. But this clearly shows Eximperitus as a force to not be written off as pure gimmick.