A few months ago, Float Face Down was signed by Mediaskare Records’ sub-label, Rite of Passage Records. They had been in the works of writing a new album for what seemed to be a very long time and about four years after releasing the Bury Your Beliefs EP, they have finally completed their debut album, Exitium Verum. In my opinion, the prolonged wait was most certainly worth it.The opening track, 11 21′ 142 12′, starts off with a sound clip which then transitions into a breakdown. I honestly don’t see the point in having such a long instrumental intro that is basically nothing but a breakdown, but I’ll let this one fly because the rest of the album is so well done. After the very bland start to Exitium Verum, Relinquished At Death restored my faith in this album. This is the Float Face Down that I’ve always loved. Extremely heavy, good riffs, omnipotent vocals, and bone-crushing breakdowns. When you add the incredible solo near the end of the song to the equation, you have the recipe to a song that will most likely be a favourite for many fans.The third track is In the Lion’s Den. I remember hearing this song when they released it approximately a year and a half ago and was so stoked for more new stuff from them. I’m glad they finally got around to completing the album! My favourite part of In the Lion’s Den is when the down-tempo breakdown transitions into a pretty fast riffing part, which also features some really good vocals from the vocalist, Ron Gilbert.The fourth track on Exitium Verum is titled Do Not Resuscitate. There is a really good 2-step part near the beginning, some pretty sweet sweeps, another immaculate solo, and some more brutal breakdowns. Next up is Without Crutches. This is another “old” song (even older than In the Lion’s Den) that they originally released about 2 or 3 years ago. It was re-recorded for Exitium Verum though. This had been my favourite song by Float Face Down ever since I heard it the first time, and this version is even better then the original.Three of the next four tracks (The Broken Switch, Until Their Veins Run Dry, and In the Face of Fear) are weaker tracks. However, on this album, the “weaker tracks” are still really solid. The sixth track is The Broken Switch. There are some good breakdowns, but aside from that, there’s not much going on. After The Broken Switch is the track titled For the World to See. The two things I will say about For the World to See are regarding the breakdown and the part that proceeds. The breakdown in the middle of the song is one of the most eerie things I have heard, and the part following that is probably one of the best segments on the album.The eighth track, Until Their Veins Run Dry starts off pretty slowly. When I saw slowly, I mean there is nothing happening that would cause you to say “I love this song”. However, it really starts to pick up around the three minute mark, just before transitioning into an awesome solo. Next up is In the Face of Fear. Again, there’s not much going on in this song, but there’s another solid solo and the final breakdown of the song is spectacular! The tenth track is the title track, Exitium Verum. Like the majority of the album, this song goes hard right from the beginning to the end. My favourite part of this song is the last minute or so. The solo is great, but the outro is even better.The eleventh track, Solemnity, is an instrumental track. Just from reading the track-listing, I thought to myself “that’s probably an instrumental”. This is an extremely long too, but it varies from acoustic to electric and it succeeded in keeping my interest for the whole 6 minutes and 44 seconds. The acoustic parts are calm, soothing, and sound great, while the electric parts are melodic, and quite honestly, perfect. I listened to the whole album a couple times, but I have listened to Solemnity at least half a dozen times. It’s probably the best instrumental I have ever heard from a “core” band of any sort! After Solemnity is the final track, Etched In Stone. Etched In Stone picks up the pace and brutality again. There are quite a few breakdowns, and yet again, another incredible solo. All of the solos on Exitium Verum are extremely well executed and they remind of All Shall Perish a lot. Near the end of the song, there’s a really creepy part with a soft guitar playing and people screaming for dear life in the background, which then translates to a brutal breakdown to end Exitium Verum.The production on Exitium Verum is obviously a huge step up from the Bury Your Beliefs EP, and I feel like their songwriting has improved drastically. The first EP was a really good deathcore release, but it was basically 15 minutes of breakdowns and chugs. While this album has its fair share of chugging and breakdowns, and despite the fact that Float Face Down is meant to be an extremely aggressive and heavy deathcore band, there are quite a few top-notch guitar solos and riffs to be heard throughout Exitium Verum. Another thing to note is that the drumming is also great.This is not your typical deathcore, folks. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as I did! 
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