Long-running German thrash metal outfit EXUMER will release their new full-length, "Death Mask Messiah," on August 28 through Metal Blade Records, marking the band's first new studio album in seven years.
The 11-track record was produced by Dominic Paraskevopoulos (KREATOR, CALIBAN) and mixed and mastered by Arthur Rizk (SOULFLY, KING DIAMOND), and pushes toward a more direct, aggressive sound than its predecessor. "We are a lot more aggressive than on 'Hostile Defiance' and are returning to a more 'in your face' style on 'Death Mask Messiah,'" said co-founding vocalist Mem V. Stein. "We're furthering the process that began with our first offering for Metal Blade, 2012's 'Fire & Damnation,' where we wanted to sound like a contemporary band while maintaining the spirit and our musical heritage of the 1980s."
Recorded between December 2025 and January 2026, "Death Mask Messiah" is EXUMER's sixth album overall and fourth for Metal Blade, and the first to feature the band's newer rhythm section of drummer Jerome Reil and bassist Alex Voss. "They have formidably integrated themselves as musicians and friends into the EXUMER tapestry," Mem said. "You can feel their young energy, coupled with our trademark aggression and experience. The band sounds more focused and yet raw, thanks to their addition to the lineup."
The album also includes a cover of NASTY SAVAGE's "Unchained Angel," featuring a guest vocal turn from Nasty Ronnie — a nod to 1988, when EXUMER supported the American metal veterans on their first European tour.
Conceptually, "Death Mask Messiah" draws on US politics of the past decade, the pandemic, and the use of misinformation to deepen cultural divides, with Mem also citing the 30th anniversary of the Waco standoff as an inspiration. "David Koresh was a false prophet and wore a death mask, manipulating and leading his followers to certain death," Mem said. "Each song on 'Death Mask Messiah' picks up an individual theme of these two strains of thought." The title track and lead single ties the Waco siege and Koresh directly to a broader picture of power-hungry figures steering the country toward ruin. "We deliberately chose this track as the first single, as the sonic assault of its main riff and the lyrical concept represent the totality of our intentions for this album," Mem added.
"Death Mask Messiah" tracklist:
- Death Mask Messiah
- Blinding Skies
- Sin Bleeder
- Eradication
- Ravishing Waste
- Allocated Savagery
- Serpent
- Fratricide
- Scorcher
- Frozen Ground
- Unchained Angel
EXUMER live:
- October 23, 2026 — Nuclear Winter Festival, Hirschaid, Germany
- November 21, 2026 — Alcatraz & Pluto Festival, Deinze, Belgium
- February 20, 2027 — Endzeit Festival, Essen, Germany