I’ve been sat on this one for a while as the album came through for review back in June despite its late August release date. The good thing is that it means I’ve been able to give The Thirteen Years Of Nero a good few listens. In the meantime we’ve had a couple of videos as well as Ricky and Shells engaging in a protracted conversation with main man Maurizio Iacono.
As with the previous albums, Ex Deo have a theme in place for this magnificent opus. No need to make wild guesses given the title, but as a bit of background Nero was the fifth emperor of Rome, having been adopted by Claudius. He took control aged only seventeen and, according to Wikipedia, “his reign is commonly associated with unrestricted tyranny, extravagance, religious persecution and debauchery.” Perfect for a death metal album, then.
From my limited knowledge, the album seems chronological. It kicks off with “The Fall of Claudius”, documents events such as the military conflict with “Boudicca (Queen of the Iceni)”, the famed “fiddling while Rome burns” (“The Fiddle & The Fire”) and concludes with “The Revolt of Galba” which details the events leading up to Nero’s assisted suicide (he ordered his private secretary to kill him as he couldn’t go through with it himself).
There are no surprises that the sound across the album is nothing less than epic. Huge drums, horns, choruses of singers, various additional instruments… If anything it’s even more bombastic and impressive than the three earlier albums. This is the musical equivalent of releasing a film in the 50s with a “cast of thousands”. The presentation of the lyrics varies throughout as well, with many of them being more speeches set to rhythm rather than actual sung vocals. There’s been no attempt at times to rephrase anything, or reword them to rhyme. What we have in The Thirteen Years Of Nero is less a collection of songs, but instead a project of setting a historic record to music.
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While those lyrics are frequently growled, they’re almost always understandable and I heartily recommend paying attention. Much as the album can be put on in the background and thoroughly enjoyed that way, it’s the story that makes it. Listen, get inspired, look up the history. In this respect, Ex Deo share a lot with the likes of Nile (who I first saw Ex Deo touring with) and Sabaton.
Oh, and of course there’s a guest appearance. If you missed the (typically cinematic) video featuring Unleash The Archers’ Brittney Slayes, then scroll down.
This, quite simply, is a brilliant album. If death metal musicians made musicals, these are the heights they would be aiming for. Hell, can you imagine one of Ex Deo’s albums being expanded out to a full 90-minute stage production? Andrew Lloyd Webber should be quaking in his tiny boots.
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The Thirteen Years of Nero is out on August 27th through Napalm Records
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