This month Excimer released their first full length entitled Thrash From Fire. Recently, Excimer became one of the most favorite Egyptian bands to the Egyptian fans. They participated in some successful events in both Cairo and Alexandria.
The album contained 7 original tracks in addition for a cover for Kreator. The track list went as follows:
1. Hell On Earth.
2. Victims Of Plague.
3. Provoke The Slaughter.
4. War Terror.
5. The Curse Of Seth.
6. Apocalypse.
7. Thrash From Fire.
8. Cry War (Kreator Cover).
For me, the album had both positive and negative aspects. Before breaking them down, I wasn’t really convinced with the concept of “Real Thrash” or “Pure Thrash” that was repeated over and over by the fans. I didn’t find any useful point in repeating those words. Well, yes. We know that there is a shortage in Thrash Metal bands in the Egyptian music scene but that doesn’t mean we should create overrated bands. Sooner enough we won’t have “Real Thrash” metal bands, but cartoonish! So, a call to the fans: Please give the right respect for the band to produce their best.*
Let’s start with the positive sides of the album:
The vocals were good. The riffs were speedy and very powerful. The solos also had a nice, different touch, which showed their influences in a great way. The harmony between the instruments was high and distinguishable. I really liked the cover track, in my humble opinion; I thought it was better than the originals.
The quality of the production was excellent; you can clearly listen and enjoy each instrument and the vocal, each on its own. Moreover, the cover of the album was delightful. I can’t believe that finally there is band that could break the point of black and white covers. It’s very colorful and powerful as the music. I enjoyed the variety of topics that the band chose, such as: wars, hypocrisy and mythology.
Now, lets shift to the negative side, which will be discussed in details. Although, it was previously mentioned the riffs were powerful, I think they were similar in some tracks of the album as well as other releases of Excimer. The vocals had the same pitches and tones, and there was no variety in the vocals style. The vocals were strong and real brutal, but hey! I thought thrash metal vocals were not brutal? No? Also, they used a drum machine, I would have preferred if they used an actual drum kit, but to all their reasons.
To conclude, the album is good and this release is evidence that we have excellent metal bands. Mistakes are not something to be ashamed of; we highlight them to help bands avoid repetition. My favorite track was the third one ‘Provoke The Slaughter’. This album would 5 out of 10. However, this album is a nice piece of music, all hail the Egyptian metal bands!
*Writer’s note: I’m not talking about a specific band or a specific person; let the music do the talk. Let them express their message via their music.