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VAEXUS
End Of The Line

Self-released (2024)
Rating: 7/10

Nestled somewhere between Prong, Nailbomb, groove metal and hardcore is Vaexus, the solo project of Saratoga Springs, New York-based musician Dana Allison. This debut offering makes for an entertaining experience, especially when I had jumped to conclusions beforehand that this would be an abrasive tech death outing.

Right from the opening title track this chugs with an urban menace, bolstered by massive riffs and the muscular vocal chops. I hear streetwise vigour fused with White Zombie too and the result is an album that in spite of its tough exterior is very easy on the ears.

The riffs on ‘War Is Peace’ are simple and easy to digest while remaining heavy and bruising. ‘Living A Lie’ could easily sit comfortably on a White Zombie opus, while ‘Set This World On Fire’ has a choppiness that edges towards Biohazard. Thankfully, Vaexus never resorts to a nu-metal style but the music most certainly isn’t reflected by the cover art. However, if you dig that sort of inner-city metal where one imagines that every promo video should read like a news broadcast of decay, starvation, deprivation, political perversion and police brutality, then a track like ‘Obsolete’ may suffice.

End Of The Line is a strangely engaging composition considering that by 1995 I’d somewhat got tired of such ghetto gutter metal, but give Vaexus a support slot on the Prong tour and you just might dig it all.

Neil Arnold

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