PHRENETIX "Exuviae" 2021

Lithuanian Thrash Metal outfit PHRENETIX had released in 2015, a very promising first album, "Fear", rooted in the old-school Speed-Thrash Metal vein, something savage - aggressive but not lacking of technical quality - to be classified among bands like Testament, Forbidden, Sacred Reich... and some others like DRI, Crumbsuckers for their subtly tinted Hard-Core touches...
It took them a long time to release their second album "Exuviae", taking a different approach to their Thrash Metal.
It's still aggressive, savage but the band has added different stylistic turns and melody to their sound...
First, the voice is still aggressive but Lina contrasts it with a clearer vocal range too - surprising but welcome - and that adds a lot to the quality of this album, the kind of details that can make a difference in a time when 100,000 bands release an album in the same month, all sounding more or less the same - without much originality... this girl is not afraid to experiment and dare to sing in a different way with clean parts far from the usual Thrash Metal style, indeed, some have more "modern metal/nu metal" accents which surprisingly perfectly blend with the music - quite unexpected at the start of the album, but in the end, it makes the strength and the interest of the release !
Musically.. as said, it's still Thrash Metal with much aggressiveness, technical parts and rhythm changes that will confuse you throughout the 40 minutes - but here too, the emphasis is on the melodious side of the style with almost progressive touches in the solos, all executed with a certain class & skill, which are like a breath of fresh air and help to push the compositions towards the top... "Exuviae" is definitely a thrash metal album that is musically very varied, everything is done to make the listening catchy & captivating, at no time is it possible to find it bland or boring ... the difference with the first album is that it's not just 100% fast riffs from start to finish, it's about a lot more variations, subtleties, tempo changes and vocal variations still rarely heard in the style - I think the band dared to take a risk by adopting this new musical approach, which in the end, turns out to be more than convincing and deserves all your interest just for that. Ignoring such a release would not be justice... in my opinion one of the best releases of 2021... Get your ears on "Exuviae" now & support PHRENETIX !



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