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Ex Deo - Caligvla review



Reviewer:
5.0

149 users:
7.87
Band: Ex Deo
Album: Caligvla
Release date: August 2012


01. I, Caligvla
02. The Tiberius Cliff (Exile To Capri)
03. Per Oculos Aquila
04. Divide Et Impera
05. Pollice Verso (Damnatio Ad Bestia)
06. Burned To Serve As Nocturnal Light
07. Teutuborg (Ambush Of Varus)
08. Along The Appian Way
09. Once Were Romans
10. Evocatio: The Temple Of Castor & Pollux

With their first effort, Romulus, the Roman Legion of Ex Deo, sought to conquer the barbarians of the metal community. But their debut became highly controversial, some hailing the conquest as a grand and epic success, still others seeing it as no more than a botched battle plan and imperial propaganda. Nevertheless, while Ex Deo may not have captured the hearts of the barbarians, they had caught their attention and so many prepared themselves for the sophomoric battle to come, enter Caligula.

Alas, through the poor battle leadership of Marizio, Ex Deo tried the same feeble form of attack upon the metal head barbarians and again have failed to conquer the peoples they sought.

With a simple look into their war-tactics one can see why they failed. First off the tempo; their battle charge is much too slow to captivate and thus capture a barbarian. Additionally, the guitar smiths seem to not have been properly trained in the art of guitar warfare. The riffs and leads that should lead the charge into battle are poorly constructed and don't stand a chance against the sounds of their rivals, the highly skilled Germanic and Scandinavian metal platoons.

Furthermore, the war cries are laughable at times as they sound as if they are coming from a general struck ill with dysentery. And lastly the keyboards provide only a vaguely epic backdrop for the rest of the battle equipment and often get lost among the unorganized army formation of sound.

With their numerous shortcomings, Ex Deo has again failed to live up to the epic standards of the Roman Empire. In fact, with Caligula, Ex Deo has seemed to fast forward the entire glory days of Rome and jumped straight into the decline of the empire.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 6
Songwriting: 5
Originality: 7
Production: 8

Written by AngelofDeth | 22.02.2014




Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.

Staff review by
D.T. Metal
Rating:
8.0
This is the second stab for Kataklysm's frontman Maurizio Iacono to pay homage to his Italian heritage. And while Ex Deo's debut album, Romulus, was still very much "katatklysmic", their latest effort sure is not.

Caligvla is much more atmospheric and reminds me more of a soundtrack to a movie than a metal album, with stories about the brutal, yet very short, reign of one of Ancient Rome's most tyrannical Emperor's, Caligula.

Read more ››
published 18.10.2012 | Comments (13)


Comments

Comments: 2   Visited by: 47 users
26.02.2014 - 17:43
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Good review, totaly agreed.
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Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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14.04.2014 - 09:38
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Agreed on all accounts. One of the most boring attempts at creating "epic" music I've ever heard. Tried to give it a go again recently but couldn't even get through the first 10 minutes.
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"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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