{"id":2579,"date":"2020-04-12T04:34:33","date_gmt":"2020-04-12T04:34:33","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-11-21T18:14:17","modified_gmt":"2020-11-21T18:14:17","slug":"paramaecium-exhumed-of-the-earth-limited-run-vinylgold-disc-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heavensmetalmagazine.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/12\/paramaecium-exhumed-of-the-earth-limited-run-vinylgold-disc-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"PARAMAECIUM: Exhumed of the Earth (Limited Run Vinyl\/Gold Disc Edition)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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When Matt Hunt\/Bombworks Records announced a few months back that this album was going to be part of the Limited Run Vinyl <\/a>series I was ecstatic! When he then informed me that it would be released \u201caround Easter\u201d I was even more excited and told him that I can\u2019t imagine a better record to be reissued around the time of year when we celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord. (For those not familiar with the music on this release, the reasons will become apparent as we examine the lyrics \u2013 read on). Furthermore, the fact that it was going to be a gatefold 2LP release was simply the icing on the cake \u2026 especially after I got the first glimpse at the layout!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paramaecium (Australia) at the time of this release consisted of only 3 members \u2013 founding member Andrew Tompkins (bass\/vocals), Jason De Ron (guitars) and newly acquired Jayson Sherlock (drums). Sherlock had amicably parted ways with Steve Rowe and Mortification because of stylistic preferences \u2013 Jayson wanted to play death metal primarily and Mortification was moving into a more melodic, diverse direction. Jason De Ron\u2019s story is even more compelling \u2013 he was led to the Lord by the band\u2019s previous guitarist Mosh who had decided to quit the band along with original drummer Steve Palmer. (For more details on these events and Paramaecium circa 1993 see Doug Van Pelt\u2019s interview\/feature from Heaven\u2019s Metal<\/em> #49).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Exhumed of the Earth<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cConceptually based on the life of Christ, this epic masterpiece \u2013 influenced by doom giants My Dying Bride and Cathedral \u2013 featured operatic elements and other classical instrumentations alongside heavy, plodding guitar riffs. With its release, the Aussie trio of Andrew Tompkins, Jason De Ron and Jayson Sherlock essentially delivered the most powerful and moving death\/doom recording in the history of Christian metal. The heavily Biblically saturated lyrics chronicled \u2013 in exhaustive detail \u2013 the birth, life, death and resurrection of Christ in a way no one had previously done \u2026 at least not to the tune of heavy metal! After departing from Mortification, Jayson wanted to move in a different direction musically, and his dramatic style of drumming fit perfectly with the heavy grinding motion that was the Paramaecium sound. Along with the debut Veni Domine  Fall Babylon Fall (also epic, doomy and scripturally based, yet more melodic) which was released around the same time from R.E.X. Music, Exhumed was very important because traditional metal was being overrun by grunge and essentially moving \u201cunderground.\u201d For many of us at the time, this disc \u2013 even though the music can be quite relentless \u2013 was literally a \u2018light\u2019 in the darkness.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I honestly can\u2019t remember when I wrote that synopsis – maybe sometime in the mid to late \u201890s or early 2000\u2019s \u2013 but I do remember using a portion of it for a \u201cblurb\u201d in 2010 for the Heaven\u2019s Metal<\/em> Top 100 Metal Albums list where it famously posted at #42. I remember wanting it higher up on the list for its overall quality and creativeness but it did lack the wider impact factor some of the other albums ahead of it possessed so ultimately a decade later, I\u2019m happy with its position in the top 50. It\u2019s a brutal, massive, heavy slab of doomy death metal with these incredibly intricate, intimate scriptural lyrics. The allure is indeed found in the paradox\/contradiction between the music and the lyrics and it is also this quality which imparts to the album its timeless qualities. Almost 3 decades later, these songs remain breathtakingly captivating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Songs<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An album this good is worthy of a thorough journalistic revisit, but my words can\u2019t possibly do the music or the lyrics justice \u2013 check it out yourself. Still, the good doctor is always willing to put forth his best observations\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe Unnatural Conception in Two Parts\u201d<\/span> \u2013 You know it takes a commitment to your art to open your debut release with a 17-minute opus. Insane. Even more crazy is the ethereal soprano of Rosemary Sutton accompanied by a deathly distorted monotone guitar riff and precision drum kicks for the first 4 minutes of the song! At 5:30 into the song the sick minor power chords herald the onslaught of Tompkins first vocal appearance. These are mostly thick lower growls, but these are augmented at times by shrill, almost blackish embellishments. Lamenting soprano vocals once again appear (presumably Mary mother of Jesus) at 9:40 with the violin and the cry of a baby (presumably Jesus). The violin serves to create tension, fraying the nerves \u2013 the whole thing reminding us that an immaculate conception does not equate to an anguish\/pain-free birth. Frenzied drums and guitar quicken the pulse as Herod discovers the birth of the Christ and attempts infanticide on a nation, but as the song moves toward climax the pace suddenly slows as he realizes his failure. Tompkins proclaims with guttural conviction\/resolution, \u201cThe Word became flesh and blood\/through the unnatural conception\/thus the Christ of prophecy was born.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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