By taking their craft as seriously as they do, Exumer represent a middle finger in the face of cynicism. If they can do it, so can you.

During their initial run in the 1980s, Exumer were one of the most important bands in Germany’s burgeoning thrash underground. When the band reformed in 2008, after nearly two decades of silence, the agreement was that they would not traffic in cheap nostalgia. If Exumer was going to be a band again, they would be an active band – one rededicated to the craft of thrash metal, with eyes fixed only on the future.

Death Mask Messiah-the first Exumer album since 2019, and one the band is extremely proud of is “as true as we get,” says Mem von Stein. Death Mask Messiah is a hard-hitting, dynamic record from a band following its own code. Exumer are terrifyingly locked in, delivering muscular modern thrash with razor-
sharp riffs, molten leads, pummeling drums, and von Stein’s unmistakable vocal attack. The album also sounds remarkably organic, shaped by the band’s hybridized but fundamentally old-school writing process.

“When everything is done, and you hear the end result, you feel proud, because this is real music, done by real people,” Stein says. “No Al bullshit, no file sharing. It’s s>ll real stuff.”

Lyrically, Death Mask Messiah explores manipulation, false prophets, poli>cal division, and social unrest. This might seem naive, but perhaps Death Mask Messiah can give back some of the meaning that this dark world seems bent on stamping out of people. Art matters. Music matters. Stein calls the album a “second spring” for Exumer, “where everything comes into bloom, and it’s a new beginning.”, and that feeling of rebirth extends to the listener.

Brad Sanders (2026)