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| #FOR FANS OF: Thrash Old School, Sodom, Destruction |
Bangladesh's thrash metal trio, Exalter, had put out their debut full-length album last December 28th, 2017, under Transcending Obscurity Asia since the band's creation in 2013. The debut aalbum is called 'Persecution Automated' and the opus is a pure thrash warfare from the beginning until the very last moments of the album. Before reviewing this release, I'd like to introduce the band to those of you who have not heard of them. Exalter plays a solid punch of old school influenced thrash metal in the vein of Sodom, Destruction, early Sepultura, early Kreator and early Exodus. Exalter had already released two EPs prior to this one. One in 2015, 'Democrasodomy' and one in 2016, 'Obituary for the Living'. Both those releases showcased the strong influences of the legendary bands mentioned above. And with 'Persecution Automated', Exalter continues to pay tribute to the forefathers of the genre.
The cd starts off with a 35-second intro which successively flows into an instrumental track called "Holocaust Ahead" that shows some straightforward aggression right from the beginning with its headbang-driven catchy riffs that brings back some early '90s thrash metal feel. After these two dramatic intro pieces, the first vicious track then appears in the form of "Reign of the Mafia State". This song holds some of the most intense riffs to come out of modern thrash with its monstrously heavy chugging riffing and mid-tempo groove. The drum work in this track also has the classic ferocious approach that we usually hear from early killer thrash records.
Three neck breaking songs then follows after "Reign of the Mafia State", starting with the fast and impulsive "World Under Curfew" which has that punishing riff barrage that gives the audiences that strong urge to commence synchronized headbanging and that evident appealing punkish drum assault. With "The Dreaded End", the listeners are battered with a ton of all-out in-your-face aggression that few thrash bands are able to deliver these days. In this track, the band showers the listeners with a bombardment of pissed off and simple but extremely catchy riffs with fucking violent drum work that never fails to get you to raise your fist up and down while screaming the word 'thrash' repeatedly.
"Slaughter Cleanse Repeat" comes next with its full throttle thrash traits just like the third track "Reign of the Mafia State". The song has some quality riffs that are amazingly powerful, and it even has some seriously furious and ballsier riffing in the slower moments of the tune. Listen to it and I assure you that it will certainly take you on a headbanging thrill ride where you just want to thrash around and mosh. "Incarceration", as "The Dreaded End", provides another crushing and devastating effect on the listeners' eardrums as it clobbers with a strapping guitar and drum section which keeps the level of aggression in the record intact.
The track number 8, called "Grip of Fear", is one of those modern orthodox thrash metal tunes that eulogizes the classic thrash albums of the late '80s and early '90s very well. There's that mettlesome punk-like energy in this song that is quite electrifying and that exuberance manages to compliment the rest of the band's music quite well. The last two songs in the album are "Pathology of Domination" and "Clandestine Drone Warfare". These two tunes sustain the eruption and the in-high-gear thrash dementia provided by songs 3, 4, and 6 as it comes forth and punishes the listeners with one crushing riff after another, smashing the audiences skull with the utter speed and intensity of Exalter's music.
The production of this debut album, as expected to a twenty-first-century extreme metal album, is intelligible, well-polished and smooth. But even with that glossy and clean production, the belligerency and combativeness of the whole record are still in full effect. The listeners can hear everything very well. All the instruments are evidently pounding and they are able to display all their utter power. I usually dig rough and raw production when it comes to my thrash metal albums, but this upright production works very well for me too because it's not that all sugary like other modern thrash releases where the clean production pulls the aggression of the offering down.
Overall, 'Persecution Automated' is a premier modern thrash metal offering that supplies fans and enthusiasts of the genre a full 35 minutes of aggressive and intense extreme music. With some absolutely crushing songs, utterly memorable riffs, stellar drumming on display, some fine and thick bass work, and violent muffled barked vocal delivery; this debut record is undeniably a modern magnum opus. Exalter might not have refined the genre with this opus, but they sure showed the rest of the pack the right manner to pay homage to the forebears of thrash metal. This is an exceptional album that deserves a place in every thrash metallers' collection rack. Go get your copy now!
As for the standout tracks, there aren't really bad songs here, as all of them have tons of riffs and memorability in them, but songs like "World Under Curfew", "The Dreaded End", "Slaughter Cleanse Repeat" and "Clandestine Drone Warfare" are the tracks that I find a little bit repetitive. (Felix Sale)
The cd starts off with a 35-second intro which successively flows into an instrumental track called "Holocaust Ahead" that shows some straightforward aggression right from the beginning with its headbang-driven catchy riffs that brings back some early '90s thrash metal feel. After these two dramatic intro pieces, the first vicious track then appears in the form of "Reign of the Mafia State". This song holds some of the most intense riffs to come out of modern thrash with its monstrously heavy chugging riffing and mid-tempo groove. The drum work in this track also has the classic ferocious approach that we usually hear from early killer thrash records.
Three neck breaking songs then follows after "Reign of the Mafia State", starting with the fast and impulsive "World Under Curfew" which has that punishing riff barrage that gives the audiences that strong urge to commence synchronized headbanging and that evident appealing punkish drum assault. With "The Dreaded End", the listeners are battered with a ton of all-out in-your-face aggression that few thrash bands are able to deliver these days. In this track, the band showers the listeners with a bombardment of pissed off and simple but extremely catchy riffs with fucking violent drum work that never fails to get you to raise your fist up and down while screaming the word 'thrash' repeatedly.
"Slaughter Cleanse Repeat" comes next with its full throttle thrash traits just like the third track "Reign of the Mafia State". The song has some quality riffs that are amazingly powerful, and it even has some seriously furious and ballsier riffing in the slower moments of the tune. Listen to it and I assure you that it will certainly take you on a headbanging thrill ride where you just want to thrash around and mosh. "Incarceration", as "The Dreaded End", provides another crushing and devastating effect on the listeners' eardrums as it clobbers with a strapping guitar and drum section which keeps the level of aggression in the record intact.
The track number 8, called "Grip of Fear", is one of those modern orthodox thrash metal tunes that eulogizes the classic thrash albums of the late '80s and early '90s very well. There's that mettlesome punk-like energy in this song that is quite electrifying and that exuberance manages to compliment the rest of the band's music quite well. The last two songs in the album are "Pathology of Domination" and "Clandestine Drone Warfare". These two tunes sustain the eruption and the in-high-gear thrash dementia provided by songs 3, 4, and 6 as it comes forth and punishes the listeners with one crushing riff after another, smashing the audiences skull with the utter speed and intensity of Exalter's music.
The production of this debut album, as expected to a twenty-first-century extreme metal album, is intelligible, well-polished and smooth. But even with that glossy and clean production, the belligerency and combativeness of the whole record are still in full effect. The listeners can hear everything very well. All the instruments are evidently pounding and they are able to display all their utter power. I usually dig rough and raw production when it comes to my thrash metal albums, but this upright production works very well for me too because it's not that all sugary like other modern thrash releases where the clean production pulls the aggression of the offering down.
Overall, 'Persecution Automated' is a premier modern thrash metal offering that supplies fans and enthusiasts of the genre a full 35 minutes of aggressive and intense extreme music. With some absolutely crushing songs, utterly memorable riffs, stellar drumming on display, some fine and thick bass work, and violent muffled barked vocal delivery; this debut record is undeniably a modern magnum opus. Exalter might not have refined the genre with this opus, but they sure showed the rest of the pack the right manner to pay homage to the forebears of thrash metal. This is an exceptional album that deserves a place in every thrash metallers' collection rack. Go get your copy now!
As for the standout tracks, there aren't really bad songs here, as all of them have tons of riffs and memorability in them, but songs like "World Under Curfew", "The Dreaded End", "Slaughter Cleanse Repeat" and "Clandestine Drone Warfare" are the tracks that I find a little bit repetitive. (Felix Sale)
(Transcending Obscurity - 2017)
Score: 85
https://exalterthrash.bandcamp.com/album/persecution-automated-thrash-metal
Score: 85
https://exalterthrash.bandcamp.com/album/persecution-automated-thrash-metal