For Exhumed, death metal is best served with heaping portions of body horror. Bay Area shredder Matt Harvey formed the band in 1990 with the aim of fusing death metal and grindcore (later labeled death-grind or gore-grind), inspired by his musical heroes Carcass. Its early releases explode with murky riffs and vomity growls and revel in seriously twisted humor—like the infamous chainsaw cover art adorning its 1998 debut full-length, Gore Metal. Subsequent albums find Harvey, the group’s de facto leader, consistently tweaking Exhumed’s attack. Whereas 2003’s thrash-informed classic Anatomy Is Destiny trades bludgeoning fury for scalpel-like precision, the 2019 release Horror pays tribute to the band’s underground roots with raw fury. But whether Exhumed sounds technical, primitive, or even melodic, its commitment to graphic depictions of carnage and mutilation remains unwavering.