Vexed
Destruction Warfare
4.4
Vexed has released their third full-length album entitled Destruction Warfare on Witches Brew Records. The Italian thrash/black metal band, which formed in 1996, has been ever present around in the thrash/ Mediterranean metal scene around Europe since their inception. They previously released 4 singles, which drew underground acclaim (as well as 2001’s Endless Armageddon and 2003’s Nuclear Holocaust), and have toured like madmen throughout Italy, Germany, and Poland recently.
This effort is laced with monster ballads, power guitar play, and thumping drum-lines. There are speed metal ballads that seem almost Slayer-ish. But they do not play the speed metal that Slayer has spawned, they use thrash with a doom and speed metal twist to combine a few different genres. The steady drum-lines and blistering guitar riffs are classic Slayer. However, if you think I am comparing the two as if they are equals, I'm not. On the contrary, Vexed seems to be very repetitive musically throughout the album not really veering from the course or attempting new aspects of the thrash metal. The songwriting portion could have been a lot better and the musicianship would have been great if the ballads, riffs, and lines did not seem vaguely familiar to the rest of the album. The production on this album is better than Vexed’s other releases but it is by no means stellar. There are points throughout the album (some crucial transitions, etc.) where some of the instruments were drowned out or completely overshadowed. I must say though that production is getting increasingly better with every album Vexed puts out.
The two best songs on the album are “Phobic Reign” and “Destruction Warfare” but for completely different reasons. “Phobic Reign” had an old-school ballad at the beginning leading into the main riff, which was both different and interesting. “Destruction Warfare” had a great drum and bass line throughout coupled with outstanding overlaying guitar play.
Overall however, this album is par at best. Vexed is getting better with their musical entrances and their style is evolving even to what I would define as doomy and haunting which really works for the band. I would have to say that the production is lacking and the songwriting could be a lot better. As far as the musicianship is concerned, every instrument individually probably sounds really good but when put together, it is too repetitive throughout the album. Improvements in all areas would be a plus for Vexed.
