When in Rome, a Review of CALIGVLA by Ex Deo

Do as Ex Deo does. It is time to break out the heavy metal [armor]. Ex Deo is back with their highly anticipated album, Caligvla. Now as we have seen with the past works of Ex Deo, its is empowering and brings us as legionnaires who are commanded by Maurizio Iacono of Kataklysm fame.

Band: Ex Deo
Album: Caligvla
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Napalm Records
Release Date: August 31, 2012

The album itself is heavy as only the Romans can muster. They had the most brutal and destructive armies in existence, and this album serves as an homage. The first song is the album is much like that of their previous album, Romulus. It opens with a song dedicated to the name sake of the album, “I, Caligvla”. As with “Romulus” from the prior album , “I, Caligvla” is the most brutal the most memorable track on the album.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSW01sWSPQY]

Additionally, the album often dips into history, and each of the song titles alludes to a monumental event in Roman history: everything from Caligvla asserting himself as the Emperor, to the allusion to the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest and the ambush of Varus. The history checks out, these gents know their Romans. Iacono grew learning about his Roman heritage, especially from his father. His work in Ex Deo shows his passion for the immense history of the Roman people.

Musically this album is unique. Half of the time it sounds as if we are watching a classic cinema epic regarding the Roman Empire, the other half we are being blasted by textbook death metal. It’s beautiful. Musically as far as guitars go, Barbe and Daganais follow the story well, often cutting killer riffs with the blasting drums in the background of an ancient wartime environment. Drums by Duhamel are clean cut and provide a wonderful pair with the war drums. Keyboards and bass again add another element, providing more depth and complexity to the sound.

In my opinion, the highlight of the album are the vocals. In some songs, Maurizio acts as emperor Caligvla, barking commands at his officers. In other times he is the Maurizio we know, throwing down perfect death metal vocals. Adding them all together, it holds together as a unique experience and a nice dip into the wonderful tumultuous history of the Romans and the insanity of the Caesar.

The shortcomings are few. Sometimes the songs shifts into a vocal transition, which at times, can drag on. I figured this style to be the extent of the potential that “metal spoken word” has. But considering the story behind each song and event, it is immersive once you get a listen to what is actually happening. However, considering this is prevalent in most songs, the first few listens can meld together but it does sort itself out as you learn to appreciate the little musical nuances between the tracks. While the orchestral pieces add a heightening dramatic atmosphere over each track, the synthesized choirs don’t parallel the sound. A studio choir would have added to the feelings of fear and utter power that Ex Deo can deliver.

Overall this album is the perfect excuse to dust off of your childhood legionnaire costume and go parading to your nearby concert hall. Just hope that this album doesn’t bring you to the edge of insanity and assumptions of divinity that Caligvla himself experienced.