The best known Exhumed is a Grindcore / Death Metal band from San Jose, CA.
Formed in 1991, when sole remaining founding member Matt Harvey was at the tender age of 15, Exhumed spent much of the ensuing decade hacking its way through numerous demos, split CDs, and EPs. The band finally recorded their debut album, the genre-(re)defining and critic-repulsing "Gore Metal" in 1998. The album crystallized the old-school Death Metal meets full-on Grindcore sound forged during the recordings of their last demo and first split CD ("Horrific Expulsion of Gore" and "In the Name of Gore").
This led to the band's first US tour and festival appearances (their only previous out of California shows had been nine dates in central Europe in 1997 supporting "In the Name of Gore"). The band continued to morph line-ups with the release of the back-to-basics sophomore record "Slaughtercult" in 2001. The album blatantly blended the band's brutal cult-thrash influences into its sonic meat-grinder. This album allowed the band to do three US tours, and their first proper European tour, including co-headlining festivals like Fuck the Commerce and Obscene Extreme. The band also appeared at the Wacken Open Air festival.
The band evolved further with their third album, 2003's "Anatomy is Destiny" which added more sophisticated arrangements, production and instrumentation into the Gore Metal formula. Bassist Leon del Muerte replaced Bud Burke soon after the album was recorded.
After the departure of the band's co-founder, drummer Col Jones, the band issued a massive 2CD compilation of their early recordings, appropriately dubbed "Platters of Splatter."
After touring America, Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia the band realigned its personnel yet again, resulting in the departure of long-time guitarist Mike Beams and the recruitment of new six-stringer Wes Caley and drumer Matt Connell. The "new and improved" Exhumed has completed recording an album of cover songs entitled "Garbage Daze Re-Regurgitated."
After a six year hiatus, Exhumed reunited with a different drummer, Danny Walker, to bring the 2011 release of 'All Guts, No Glory.' The new release was met with much praise from critics and a global tour.
Death Knell
Exhumed Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A tumescent terminus draws near
Sloughing skin, boils erupt before your very eyes
Carbuncles and lesions appear
Wracked with infection - excruciated
An affliction which will not abate
Eczemic flesh stripped away - excoriated
A fetid, disease-ridden fate
All over the hospital floor
Not long for this earth, it only gets worse
Physiognomy ridden with sores
Rendered grotesque, thorax fills with cess
Suffering until your demise
Corrode from within, sepsis sets in
Innards begin to liquefy
Too late, face fate- Await, death's gate
Sound the death knell - Sound the death knell
Overripe omens ooze out of your maw
Excrescent expectorate expunged
Sallowed skin, blistered and raw
Hacking up bits of clot-caked gunge
Riddled with welts - suppurated
Day by day this decay sprays it's filth
Drain the pus into pans - intubated
Discharging bloody, pyomorphic swill
Feculent, purulent
Rampant infection now grown out of hand
Nauseated, expectorated
Bits of innards floating in your bedpan
Too late, face fate- Await, death's gate
Sound the death knell - Sound the death knell
Disgusting yourself, you turn inside out
Epidermal revulsion takes hold
Prognosis is grim, there can no more doubt
You're soon to be stiff, dead and cold
Vital organs spew forth - regurgitated
Prolapse of bowels, sinew and crud
Sanguineous breath - asphyxiated
Esophagus torn, drown in your own blood
Violent death, terminal breath
The hospital bed now a gore-soaked grave
Your execrable corpse, taken down to the morgue
Fodder for pathologists depraved
Too late, face fate- Await, death's gate
Sound the death knell - Sound the death knell
The lyrics to Exhumed's "Death Knell" describe the grotesque and painful symptoms of a disease-ridden individual who is suffering through their last moments in a hospital bed. The song starts with hints of impending death as "purulent portents" and "tumescent terminus" suggest an imminent decline. As the song progresses, we get a vivid description of the physical symptoms that accompany the disease, including "sloughing skin," "carbuncles," and "lesions." The singer is "wracked with infection" and "excruciated." The disease is so severe that their "flesh stripped away" and they face a "fetid, disease-ridden fate."
The lyrics then describe the final stages of the illness, with the singer "vomiting blood" and "nearly dead." The disease has caused their "physiognomy" to become "ridden with sores," and it seems that they are beyond recovery as they face their final moments. The song ends with a violent death, as the singer's "vital organs spew forth," leading to their death.
Overall, the lyrics of "Death Knell" paint a vivid and grotesque picture of a person's final moments as they suffer through an intense illness.
Line by Line Meaning
Purulent portents augur decrepit demise
The signs of a festering infection indicate an impending and unpleasant death
A tumescent terminus draws near
Your swollen and bloated body is nearing its final destination
Sloughing skin, boils erupt before your very eyes
Your skin is falling apart, and pus-filled sores are erupting all over your body
Carbuncles and lesions appear
Your body is covered in clusters of infected boils and sores
Wracked with infection - excruciated
You are in agony due to the intense infection raging within your body
An affliction which will not abate
Your condition is not getting better and there is no hope for recovery
Eczemic flesh stripped away - excoriated
Your inflamed skin is peeling away, exposing raw flesh underneath
A fetid, disease-ridden fate
You are doomed to perish in a stinking and disease-ridden state
Moribund, vomiting blood
You are dying, and vomiting up blood is a sign of your body's final struggle
All over the hospital floor
Your vomit is covering the hospital floor, a disgusting and humiliating end
Not long for this earth, it only gets worse
You have little time left, and your condition continues to deteriorate
Physiognomy ridden with sores
Your face is covered in infected sores and boils
Rendered grotesque, thorax fills with cess
Your appearance has been twisted by the disease, and your chest is filling with pus and filth
Suffering until your demise
You will continue to experience pain and suffering until you pass away
Corrode from within, sepsis sets in
Your body is being eaten away from the inside, and sepsis is taking hold
Innards begin to liquefy
Your internal organs are disintegrating, turning into a disgusting liquid mess
Too late, face fate- Await, death's gate
It's too late to save yourself, you must accept your fate and await your inevitable death
Sound the death knell - Sound the death knell
The grim sound of the death knell is a reminder of your impending demise
Overripe omens ooze out of your maw
Your mouth is oozing out disgusting and ominous substances
Excrescent expectorate expunged
You are coughing up foul and disgusting substances that should not exist in the human body
Sallowed skin, blistered and raw
Your skin is now sickly and yellow, blistered and raw from the disease
Hacking up bits of clot-caked gunge
You are violently coughing up chunks of coagulated and polluted residue
Riddled with welts - suppurated
Your skin is covered in boils and infected welts, that are now oozing pus
Day by day this decay sprays it's filth
Every day your body is deteriorating further, spreading the decay and disease further
Drain the pus into pans - intubated
Doctors must remove the pus from your body and collect it in pans as you are intubated
Discharging bloody, pyomorphic swill
You are discharging a vile and putrid mixture of blood and pus that is now crawling with bacteria
Feculent, purulent
Your discharge is now full of excrement and pus, making it completely revolting
Rampant infection now grown out of hand
The infection has spread uncontrollably throughout your body and now it's too late to do anything
Nauseated, expectorated
Your nausea makes you want to vomit which is now mixed with pus and blood
Bits of innards floating in your bedpan
You've passed so much blood and gore that pieces of your internal organs are floating in your bedpan
Disgusting yourself, you turn inside out
Your body has become so disgusting and revolting that you can no longer bear to look at yourself
Epidermal revulsion takes hold
Your extreme disgust is now affecting your skin, and it is reacting with revulsion
Prognosis is grim, there can no more doubt
All hope is lost, and there is no chance of survival
You're soon to be stiff, dead and cold
You will soon be lifeless, cold and rigid, as your body finally succumbs to its ailments
Vital organs spew forth - regurgitated
Your body is expelling vital organs, and you are regurgitating them
Prolapse of bowels, sinew and crud
Your bowels and sinew are prolapsing, and pieces of crud are coming out of your body
Sanguineous breath - asphyxiated
You are breathing out bloody air, and it becomes too much to bear, and you suffocate
Esophagus torn, drown in your own blood
Your throat is torn, and you are drowning in your own blood as you take your final breaths
Violent death, terminal breath
Your death is violent and final, as you exhale your terminal breath
The hospital bed now a gore-soaked grave
The once sterile hospital bed is now a bloody and disgusting grave
Your execrable corpse, taken down to the morgue
Your hateful and detestable body is taken down to the morgue after your death
Fodder for pathologists depraved
Pathologists will now use your dead and decaying body for study and research for their depraved purposes
Too late, face fate- Await, death's gate
The realization that it's too late and accepting inevitable death, is the only way forward now
Sound the death knell - Sound the death knell
The death knell now rings loudly, marking your path to the next life
Contributed by Victoria H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.