Chicago punkers gone black metal Exalted are back with a new two-song 7" that delivers more of their thrashing, buzz saw BM that made their debut We Are The Grim Throng such a ripper. Made up of guys who used to play in Chicago-area hardcore bands like MK Ultra, Charles Bronson, Ottowa, and Nema, Exalted play blackened thrash with an unmistakable punk influence: simple three-and-four chord riffs, straightforward thrashy drumming, rocking mid-paced parts, obviously informed by the raw power of hardcore punk, but with screeching feral vokills that are so blown out and distorted that they are totally unintelligible, and recorded with a seriously murky production that gives this a real clandestine vibe. The a-side track "Eyes Rolled Back" is a fierce thrasher that goes from speedy primitive BM to a killer droning hardcore riff, put together into a fairly catchy (and highly skuzzy sounding) dose of necro-punk, while the b-side jam "We Are The Grim Throng" kicks into a seriously catchy punk tune that sounds more like early 80's hardcore than black metal, except they've got this eerie guitar lead snaking through it, and the vocals are at the extreme end of screech. Reminds me a lot of the early Ash Pool / Malveillance / Akitsa brand of blackened punk, though this song is much more melodic than any of that stuff. Pretty fucking rad! The 7� comes in a suitably grim looking sleeve, limited to 300 copies.