Ex Deo Year Of The Four Emperors CD Review

Historical Symphonic Death Metal band, Ex Deo have long been known for covering the history of Ancient Rome. The band has now returned with a follow up to 2021’s “The Thirteen Years of Nero”. This time around they’re covering the 12-month period after Nero’s reign – AD69. This would be the first Civil War of Ancient Rome and in this short span of time, Rome would see Four different emperors sit on the throne. Conveniently the title of this EP is “The Year of the Four Emperors”.
 
For those not in the know, Ex Deo is led by Kataklysm frontman Maurizio Iacono. Ex Deo started off as a side project and has now grown into a full-time gig, it seems. I should also mention that Ex Deo have kind of taken over Kataklysm’s Melodic Death Metal tendencies as Kataklysm’s albums have gotten traditionally heavier through the years. For me, this is my preferred style, it’s a great deal more approachable, listenable and melodic. It’s also where Iacono’s song writing really stands out the best, he seems sure in what he’s singing, he’s obviously passionate about the history of Ancient Rome, so there’s that too.
 
Back to the EP, it’s short and sweet, but that’s to be expected out of four tracks. Each track is named for the emperor that would sit on the throne in AD69 – “Galba”, “Otho”, “Vitellius”, and “Vespasian”. The first 3 emperors wouldn’t fair well, their reigns would be short lived and met with mutiny, tyranny and ultimately death. The telling of each emperor is truly majestic considering we’re talking Melodic Death Metal. The symphonic aspects within are also a great touch, softening the brutality. There are small segments of spoken words that further the interesting aspects of the stories. If I had the lyrics in front of me, I’m sure I could really dive deeper into the stories. Those of you who are familiar with the band and or Kataklysm’s “Serenity in Fire” era will really appreciate this EP. It’s not often that I say this, but the side project Ex Deo has surpassed Kataklysm – every effort gets better and more involved. For me, I view them as the same bands. I just prefer the melodic approach of Ex Deo. This EP is also the band’s first release through Reigning Phoenix Music. If the band is following Rome’s history chronologically, next up we’ll be getting treated to the story of the Flavian Dynasty which ushered in the Colosseum and the birth of the Gladiator…

~Black Angel