The straightforward thrash releases I review are far and few in between these days. I feel for the last few years, we’ve been living in a “post-thrash” world. Now by “post-thrash”, I’m not talking about the sparsely used term originated in the early 90s to describe the rising crop of groove metal bands (Or was that “neo-thrash”?), but rather this odd space in time since the thrash revival of the early 2010s. The “glory days” of bands like Municipal Waste, Havok, and Warbringer are long gone, frankly because their fanbase grew up and realized they were never that great to begin with, at least in comparison to the 80s trailblazers who originated the genre. This isn’t to say there’s no new thrash metal worth checking out. Some of the finest releases of the year happen to be thrash oriented (see Vulture and Nekromantheon). However, these bands are, as I stated in the beginning, “far and few in between”.
This brings us to the subject of today’s review, Infex. I chose to review their latest album, Burning in Exile, for a few reasons. Firstly, I can’t speak on behalf of other metal review sites, but this month is dry as hell. I was looking at my album release calendar and had practically nothing slated for this week. Hell, if some Ozzfest nu metal D listers sent me a promo to review their latest album, I’d probably do so just to have some content to post (You hear that Trapt?). Second of all, I’ve been in a thrash mood all week. Between bumping Sodom’s Persecution Mania and a Spotify mix of classic neck snappers from the likes of Onslaught, Exodus, Flotsam and Jetsam, etc., my high tops were laced and ready for action.
Infex’s brand of thrash metal is orthodox and straightforward. Their riffing, vocals, and all around songwriting approach reminds me of the more enjoyable moments of modern Testament. This is what lingered through my mind while listening to cuts like “Blood of the Wicked” and “Exiled”. It wasn’t until “Acid Reign” that this band really grabbed me. In a dramatic shift of events, “Acid Reign” ups the ante with bludgeoning riffs that range from breakneck to slamming, and throaty rasps for vocals, reminiscent of Demolition Hammer and Kreator. This brutality continues on the following track, “The Abyss”, which even leans into death metal territory.
Unfortunately, the band scales back the extremity on “Legions of Hate”, settling for a conventional approach for the remainder of this affair. Burning in Exile becomes so cliché that it even features the obligatory crossover thrasher dedicated to, you guessed it, beer (“Beer Run”). Closing it all out is the lengthy “7.62”. I suppose this is the band’s attempt at a thrash epic? It clocks in at a little over 6 minutes, but doesn’t offer much aside from a gnarly Slayer-esque switchover halfway through.
While Infex’s ability to craft memorable riffs and songs falls short at times, by no means are they a bad band. “Acid Reign” and “The Abyss” give us a taste of what they are fully capable of. If they fully embrace their “brutal thrash” or “death/thrash” side, the possibilities are endless. Until then, they wallow in a crowded pool of other “just okay” thrash bands…which is still slight tier above “pizza thrash”.
5 out of 10
Label: Independent
Genre: Thrash Metal
For fans of: Testament, Sacred Reich, Demolition Hammer