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Necropsy started way back in 1987 as F.T.D. before changing their name to Anxiety and then Necropsy shortly after, making them one of the longest Finnish Death Metal bands still out there. Unfortunately, their story is the familiar one of a band releasing a handful of solid demos before disbanding without a full-length to their name, a story that you can hear more about in the book Rotting Ways to Misery (this isn't a sponsored review, by the way, it's just a really good book). Thankfully, another common theme is the underground act coming back over a decade later to give it another go, which is what Necropsy did back in 2008. They've released some damn fine albums since then, with 2015's Buried in the Woods standing as their best work to date, but their latest EP, Exitus, has taken its place in the most surprising way possible.

The most notable thing about this release is how much slower it is in comparison to the band's previous work, so much so I would say they've gone full Doom/Death. They speed up to old Necropsy standards on the album closer "Butcherado", but the remaining three songs are exercises in dragging, pummeling riffs, dense, murky atmosphere, and more unrelenting heaviness than ever before, all topped off with Tero's inhuman growls. They even throw in some infectious melodies with that trademark melancholic quality you can only call Finnish, and they often stand as the best parts of the album.

I never expected a band like Necropsy to ever make an album like this, but it turns out that adding a large dose of Doom to their sound was the best idea they've ever had, so no one's happier than me to say that I was wrong about that. Here's hoping they keep up the new direction for their next full-length, because they'd prove me right in saying it'll be a monster of an album if they do.