Ex Deo is a Canadian death metal band formed in 2008 in Montreal, Quebec. The band is a side project of Kataklysm frontman Maurizio Iacono, based on the history of the Roman Empire. On February 17, 2014, the band issued a statement declaring the band would be put on indefinite hold and a third album is unlikely. However, on September 9, 2015, Maurizio Iacono announced that the band has ended their hiatus and were working on a new album, The Immortal Wars, that was released in 2017.
History
Ex Deo was formed in 2008 as an artistic project Maurizio Iacono was really interested in and as it caught on, it became more of a band. However, Iacono said in an interview that Ex Deo will not be as active as Kataklysm is. The idea of making songs about the Roman empire has come to Maurizio's mind because of his Italian pride as he is Italian. The first Roman Legion Melodic Death Metal band.
''Romulus'' (2009)
Ex Deo's debut album Romulus was released through Nuclear Blast on June 19, 2009 in Europe and was released on June 30, 2009 in North America. The album was recorded with producer and Kataklysm guitarist Jean-François Dagenais, featuring guest appearances by Karl Sanders, Obsidian C. and Nergal.
''Caligvla'' (2010–2014)
After a year of extensively touring the band announced its second album on August 19, 2010 through their Facebook page. They mentioned the writing process would begin in late 2011. On October 14, 2010 the band revealed the new album's title Caligula, which would later be changed to Caligvla. Back then the band was aiming to finish the album the following year, but the next year, on April 16, 2011 the band announced would take about a year longer before they expect the album to hit the stores. On December 14, 2010 the band signed a new record deal with Napalm Records. On September 28, 2011 the band announced the album's release date, August 31, 2012 which would also mark Caligula's 2000th anniversary. The band entered the studio in November 2011 to start the recordings for the new album. Then on February 4, 2012 Maurizio posted a studio update that most of the symphonies and orchestral parts were done. He also mentioned that the process of creating the album would take a lot of time and would possibly interfere with their Paganfest tour. The band cancelled their appearance on Paganfest a few days later. On February 16, 2012 Maurizio started recording his vocals which would be finished by February 21. At that only a few solos were left, some guest appearances to track and then they would be ready to start mixing the album. In March the band revealed the final track listing of Caligvla and also announced they began mixing the album. Then on March 23, the band revealed the guest appearances on Caligvla, which would involve Seth Siro, Mariangela Demurtas, Stefano Fiori and Francesco Artusato. The band unveiled the album cover artwork for Caligvla on April 15. In June 2012, the band announced a video for the song I, Caligvla, featuring Maurizio's girlfriend and Colombian model Suzzy. On July 27 they uploaded the new video for I, Caligvla on YouTube.
Hiatus (2014–2015)
On February 17, 2014, the band issued a statement declaring the band would be put on indefinite hold and a third album is unlikely. However, on September 9, 2015, Maurizio Iacono announced that the band has ended their hiatus and were working on a new album.
''The Immortal Wars'' (2015–17)
On January 4, 2016, the band announced the title of their upcoming third album, The Immortal Wars, that was released in February 2017.
Present day
On September 28, 2018, the band posted on their Facebook account an image of Roman legionaries, with the caption “Ex Deo legions … 4th album ? yes ? no ?”, teasing that a new album may be in the making.
