The consul has decided: Ex Deo has a new EP for us.
Scheduled for release via Reigning Phoenix Music at the start of their 2025 European tour, Year of the Four Emperors was created by Maurizio Iacono (vocals, Kataklysm, Invictus), Dano Apekian (bass, Ashes of Eden), Stéphane Barbe (guitar, Kataklysm), Jean-François Dagenais (guitar, Kataklysm) and James Payne (drums, Kataklysm, Hiss from the Moat, ex-Hour of Penance, ex-Vital Remains).
The story begins in style with Galba announcing the death of Emperor Nero via a sample, then the musicians come into play with an impressive rhythm and majestic orchestrations. The powerful sound is perfect to accompany such a tale, which only calms down to let the sample intervene again to reveal the fateful news and introduce the return of the riffs that lead us to Otho and its soaring leads that hypnotize us before the vocals take their place again. The rhythm section stomps and accelerates to its heart’s content, retaining its martial approach even as the airy tones settle in, before finally introducing Vitellius and its heavier atmosphere, letting a throbbing groove begin the composition. The heavy riffs follow, of course, guiding vocals and keyboards, slowing down only when the sample slows its progress, before the finale picks up to welcome Vespasian, the last of the four tracks and the first to be unveiled, which quickly proves to be sharper than the previous track, moving forward at a steady pace and making our skulls shake.
With this new EP, Ex Deo are back in the spotlight, proving that the Legion are still in top form. The concept of Year of the Four Emperors is interesting, and the tracks are rhythmic, promising wonders live.
90/100