Style: New Wave Thrash, Avant Garde, Prog Metal (Mixed vocals)
Review by: Mathis
Country: Germany
Release date: 17 September, 2021
If you are looking for something to fill the shoes of Devin Townsend (at least until his next release), then look no further! Exxperior might be exactly what you are looking for: goofy, fun, and heavy! To avoid limiting themselves with labels, they identify as a thrash project and not a thrash band. They also set themselves apart from other thrash bands by introducing a cleaner crisper mix. New wave thrash is the most prominent of their styles, but they grab influences from a multitude of other genres.
Exxperior’s newest release Escalating Conflicts is kind of like a burger. In this “burger”, thrash riffs and eccentric vocals make up the meat (or meat substitute for any vegans/vegetarians); while death metal growls, spoken word, power metal “WaAaAaAaHhH”’s, tap dancing, and a few other styles account for the toppings and condiments. All these different flavors come together and unexpectedly compliment each other to make a delicious meal! For your ears of course.
Escalating Conflicts is a concept album about a man named Jaxx, whose desire is to rebel. Throughout the album you see him come face to face with the personifications of various worldviews, and ultimately he rejects all of them. Most of the songs are structured as debates, where Jaxx and the worldview representative take turns singing.
The first track “Exitiabilis Creatura” is a short instrumental introductory track, and it’s boring. As savage as this might be, there is no reason to listen to it. It doesn’t do anything for me, but on Bandcamp you can read the exposition when you click on the lyrics. I think they should have added those lyrics to the first track, and then it would have seemed better fitting.
“Escalating Conflicts…A World Goes Astray” could easily replace the first track. It comes out swinging with an angry vocal line that leads right into the thrash. It matches the tone of the story as well, the world is going to piss and Jaxx is leading an uprising to counter the corruption he finds in all these worldviews. The first fight Jaxx picks is against pop music culture in the song “Timeless but Mindless”. He emphasizes that every new song is just a variant of the last big hit, and although pop songs may be catchy they all lack passion. It’s a good song, but isn’t as innovative as some of the other subsequent tracks.
Banger alert! “The Agnostic Jam” is such a fun song, Jaxx is trying to understand the point of agnosticism after denouncing religion. He tries his best to be polite and peaceful, and is clearly struggling with it. While on the other hand the agnostic representative Kind Chris is trying to explain that acceptance is key. The musical composition is just as hectic and hilarious as the debate Jaxx and Chris are having. About halfway through the track the music slows down and gets bluesy, then an epic drum fill suddenly leads into a silly jazzy section with fingers snapping to the music, and now its speeding up but still so weird like an Others by No One song, but it only gets stranger as the agnostic choir sings a hymn with chuggy guitars and the double bass in the background. Finally the song returns to the chorus from the first half one more time and then ends. What a freaking ride!
The next track after an interlude sounds like it’s straight out of Devin Townsend’s Ziltoid Series, complete with some devious spoken word followed by a crazy guitar solo. “Multidimensional Mindblow” is about a scientist that believes the perceived world could be a simulation, and it gives off some major spacey/alien overlord vibes. An Homage to Ziltoid maybe, or just an epic coincidence? Either way it is an incredible song!
Next is another interlude and then the heaviest song on the album “A Murderer’s Excuse”. The song takes place in a court room with a murderer being held on trial. The murderer is surprisingly tame, and the heaviness of song comes from the judge and the subject matter. The judge’s growls are much lower than the harsh vocals in the rest of the album. This heavier darker track adds contrast to the track list, especially given what comes next.
Tap Dancing! Tap dancing is next baby. “About Peace…The Presence of Justice” opens with some tap dancing that eventually evolves into a blast beat with a deathcore style low growl. This song keeps you on your toes (yes, that was a pun) with a fun bouncy riff, a minute long tap dance solo that leads into a guitar solo and then back to a tapping solo. I mean it’s just nuts, then the deathcore vocals from the beginning come back, and finally the outro returns to the bouncy riff from earlier but speeds it up, and it almost seems like the vocalist is having a hard time keeping up which could be bad, but I found it entertaining.
Exxperior’s Escalating Conflicts is riddled with all kinds of strange musical choices and genre bending weirdness, and makes for a tasty musical burger. The production and mix is much cleaner than other bands in the genre too, which makes for a more pleasant listening experience. They did a phenomenal job at breaking down musical barriers, but I think the album could have flowed more smoothly with the exclusion of some interludes. Not every track is an absolute banger either, but they all carry their own weight. Ultimately a great album, especially if you’re into avant garde stuff and are looking for something new!
Recommended tracks: The Agnostic Jam, About Peace…The Presence of Justice
Recommended for fans of: Devin Townsend, Others by No One, Lich King, Voivod, Vektor
You may also like: Misterer
Final verdict: 7.5/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Metal-Archives page
Label: Iron Shield Records – Website | Facebook
Exxperior is:
– Jaxx Basilisk (vocals)
– Exx Tom The Shredriffer (guitars)
– Apokarlypsa Apparatus (drums)
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