| Written by Alex Stojanovic TRACK LISTING Behind The Walls Of Treachery Seven Words Spit Coin The Alter Of Nothing Everybody Loves You When You're Dead Reckless With A Smile Ghost Tape Number 10 My War Kill & Protect Anything But The Truth Release Date: November 4, 2022 Label: Listenable Records Website: xentrix.co.uk facebook.com/xentrixmetal |  |
XENTRIX IS:
Jay Walsh - Vocals & rhythm guitars / Kristian Havard - Lead guitars / Chris Shires - Bass / Dennis Gasser - Drums
Jay Walsh - Vocals & rhythm guitars / Kristian Havard - Lead guitars / Chris Shires - Bass / Dennis Gasser - Drums
When it comes to thrash, we all know about the Big Four (Metallica / Slayer / Megadeth / Anthrax) and of course the Big Teutonic 4 (Kreator / Destruction / Sodom / Tankard). However, when it comes to the Big Four label and debates, people rarely mention the Big Four of the British thrash scene: those being Onslaught, Sabbat, Acid Reign and the focus of this review: Xentrix. The thrash legends from Preston have had quite a history since emerging on the scene in the mid-80s. Their first two albums: Shattered Existence and For Whose Advantage are underrated classics in the thrash world, while the following two albums: Kin and Scourge tend to not get the same amount of praise and respect as the first two albums. Despite have achieved some success, touring with bands like Testament, Slayer, Sepultura and Tankard, and also receiving some airplay on MTV, the British thrash scene's popularity went into decline in the mid-90s, causing the band to disband. They would then reform in the mid-2000s for some shows, but would disband once again a year later.
The band would then reform a second time in 2013 with the original Shattered Existence lineup, but bassist Paul Mackenzie and vocalist/guitarist Chris Astley would both leave the band in 2013 and 2017 respectively, only to be replaced by Chris Shires and Jay Walsh, leaving lead guitarist Kristian Havard and drummer Dennis Gasser as the only original members remaining. This current version of the band would also end up producing new music. 2019's Bury The Pain was their first album in 23 years since Scourge, and was really well received. Touring behind the album was cut short due to the pandemic, but the good news is that the band is still active, and their sixth album Seven Words was released in 2022.
If you were a fan of Bury The Pain, you'll be glad to know that Seven Words picks up where that album left off. The only difference is that Jay Walsh injects a bit more melody into his vocals on some tracks. Case in point, opener "Behind The Walls Of Treachery" begins in a similar vein to "Bury The Pain" with a melodic guitar intro with harmonies and an uplifting vibe before being slammed with a full-scale thrash assault. The only difference is that the intro is much longer this time around. You can hear the distortion disappear from the vocals in the chorus. The tight gallops on the rhythm guitars give a nod to Exodus, and that's an immediate cause for the mosh pits to ignite in a live setting. You have to love how the two guitars criss-cross in harmony during the intro riff in the title track. It's not all fast riffs and blistering solos, because things are also dialed back a bit for some groove, particularly on "Everybody Loves You When You're Dead". When you think about it, that title pretty much speaks the truth about a lot of people.
One difference this time around was that instead of Kristian handling all the songwriting like he did on Bury The Pain, Jay was involved in the writing, which took a huge chunk of weight off Kristian's shoulders, and it also explains why there's a bit more diversity in direction on this one. If Seven Words and Bury The Pain are not convincing enough for people to start giving Xentrix a little more recognition and respect within the thrash metal realms, then I don't know what is.
The band would then reform a second time in 2013 with the original Shattered Existence lineup, but bassist Paul Mackenzie and vocalist/guitarist Chris Astley would both leave the band in 2013 and 2017 respectively, only to be replaced by Chris Shires and Jay Walsh, leaving lead guitarist Kristian Havard and drummer Dennis Gasser as the only original members remaining. This current version of the band would also end up producing new music. 2019's Bury The Pain was their first album in 23 years since Scourge, and was really well received. Touring behind the album was cut short due to the pandemic, but the good news is that the band is still active, and their sixth album Seven Words was released in 2022.
If you were a fan of Bury The Pain, you'll be glad to know that Seven Words picks up where that album left off. The only difference is that Jay Walsh injects a bit more melody into his vocals on some tracks. Case in point, opener "Behind The Walls Of Treachery" begins in a similar vein to "Bury The Pain" with a melodic guitar intro with harmonies and an uplifting vibe before being slammed with a full-scale thrash assault. The only difference is that the intro is much longer this time around. You can hear the distortion disappear from the vocals in the chorus. The tight gallops on the rhythm guitars give a nod to Exodus, and that's an immediate cause for the mosh pits to ignite in a live setting. You have to love how the two guitars criss-cross in harmony during the intro riff in the title track. It's not all fast riffs and blistering solos, because things are also dialed back a bit for some groove, particularly on "Everybody Loves You When You're Dead". When you think about it, that title pretty much speaks the truth about a lot of people.
One difference this time around was that instead of Kristian handling all the songwriting like he did on Bury The Pain, Jay was involved in the writing, which took a huge chunk of weight off Kristian's shoulders, and it also explains why there's a bit more diversity in direction on this one. If Seven Words and Bury The Pain are not convincing enough for people to start giving Xentrix a little more recognition and respect within the thrash metal realms, then I don't know what is.
FINAL RATING
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