I jumped out of my chair the second I received notification that Construct of Lethe’s second full length record Exiler was available to review.  Having been a fan of this group since their 2016 debut, Corpsegod.   There was a bit of a shift in sound from Corpsegod to Construct’s 2016 EP, The Grand Machination.  Both Corpsegod and The Grand Machination feature the mighty Kevin Talley on drums.  Corpsegod was more of a blistering blast beat assault style of death metal.  Maybe more so akin to a group like a Hate Eternal.  “The Grand Machination” EP is a bit darker and more mid-tempo.  Feeling like a dirgier Formulas Fatal to the Flesh Era Morbid Angel mixed with some Immolation-esque touches. With Exiler Construct of Lethe waste no time combining numerous elements of past releases with also new twists in sound that are new to this release. One noticeable change with Exiler is the change in the drum department.  A switch of Kevin’s.  Going from Kevin talley to Kevin Paradis (Benighted, Autokrator). Patrick Bonvin of Near Death Condition continues to add his lead work as he did on the last effort.

Opening up with “Rot of Augury” the first track starts off with almost a completely different approach to riffing.  Maybe more melodic than past efforts.  Somehow the build into the verse is quite unsettling because of this.  Once the verse section hits the past stylized augmented dissonant riffing hits in full force along with Paradis’ insanely tight and precise double kick patterns.  It almost feels like the band is powering themselves on as the album is just getting started here. “Testimony of Ruin” opens with layer discordance and slowly builds into a ferocious blast and tremolo picked assault followed by sustained chords and Gregorian chants followed by to lead harmony guitar lines floating of Paradis’ drum patterns.

The third track, “The Clot” may be the catchiest track on the record and also has some of the most methodical build of any tracks on Exiler.  “Fugue State’ is one of the most ambitious tracks on the album and is unlike anything else Construct of Lethe have done before.  Start to finish it is impossible for this reviewer to find a weak track.  The progression from last album is subtle but there.  I really wish that these guys could tour but have an international assemble cast as Construct of Lethe does that makes for a difficult task.  For those of you out there that didn’t care for new Morbid Angel record.  This may satisfy your appetite.  Personally, I would recommend buying these guys complete catalog because they write some quite polished and well played black/death metal.  Enjoy.

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