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EXITUS
Liebyrinth

Kolchoz (2023)
Rating: 6.5/10

Well, this one came out of the blue. Did you know that Czech thrashers Exitus originally formed in 1989? They released a brace of demo tapes and then disbanded in 1991 due to the band members being called up for military duty. I feel shame for the fact that I didn’t realise that Exitus re-emerged in 2019 with an EP entitled Undead, and now they have resurfaced again with this 50-minute slab of robust thrash.

Existus is still being driven by original members Vladan Pražák (guitar) and Víťa Ferenčák (guitar), who are joined here by Petr Kupka (vocals), Marek Lipový (bass) and Aleš Dámek (drums).

It is fair to say that Kupka’s vocal style is very much a confrontational and contemporary bark that, although rather generic in its muscularity, gives the album an almost hardcore slant. The bass drives and rattles hard throughout this album although there are moments that it’s a tad too dominant, but if you like fierce, juddering and deadly serious thrash then you are sure to love this, even with its slightly mechanical feel.

If I had to pinpoint an influence or style with this record then I’d describe this as being a mix of Biohazard and Exodus (circa 2000s) but with elements of classic steeliness. Gang chants abound in the likes of ‘Final Solution (…Of Existence)’, and ‘Ruleout’ brings melody alongside pace. Meanwhile, ‘God Has Left This Place’ chugs in catchy fashion, and the title track resorts to mechanical haste.

The cover rendition of Pro-Pain’s ‘God Only Knows’ sort of sums up what the band is about, which may disappoint those who knew Existus from back in the day. Elsewhere, the likes of ‘Destroy The World’, ‘World Error’, and ‘Apocalypse Never’ all rage hard and often fast but in a rather pallid and clinical fashion.

If this had emerged around the mid-to-late 90s it may have garnered the attention it deserved, but through all its colourless and cold steel puffing Liebyrinth becomes a rather abrasive and exhausting construction akin to spending too much time on a building site. Those eager to flex their muscles and puff out their chest may revel in such destructive designs, but I just found it all a bit too colourless.

Neil Arnold

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