Lista de los grupos Thrash Metal Exile (JOR) Suspended Society... Mutilated Variety

A blind buy of Exile's debut album may lead listeners to believe that they've accidentally dialed in 1986 on a thrash metal time machine. 'Suspended Society... Mutilated Variety' sounds so close to 80's thrash, I'm not sure if it's even appropriate to call this a revival record. Yes, everything about this release reeks of nostalgia, from the fast paced riffs and distinct bass to the album art that fiercely hints towards a form of social commentary.

'Suspended Society... Mutilated Variety' begins with highly expressive sounds of war that explode into a heavily palm-muted fury with a lack of any kind of vocals on 'Forthcoming Of Terror'. This transfers into the first main track, 'Legions Of Death', which could easily be mistaken for an unreleased Slayer track. This vibe continues until the comical interlude 'WTF!', afterwards continuing on its rampage of slamming drums and malicious guitar riffs.

There are a few brief moments on the record that seem pointless, unnecessary, and poorly executed, such as a few short breaks on the title track, but these are far and few in between. There are also sections where all begins a slight fading into a endless wall of typical thrash chops, but the couple of interludes effectively relieve most of the dullness.

Now, for the pros of the release. First off, the guitars. There are enough mid-range, evil-sounding, and burning riffs on this album to satisfy any thrash fan. Exile do a good job of defying the norm of forgettable licks so common in underground thrash by making the leads especially vicious.

One of the most refreshing elements of thrash metal is when a band avoids the common trap of burying the bass 6 feet under a wall of guitar. In this particular genre, bass guitars are often as up-front as the electric guitars. This album is no exception. We repeatedly hear the low-end separating from the guitar to provide its own riffs and grooves. The drums on 'Suspended Society... Mutilated Variety' pound out rhythms we would expect from the genre, with no timing issues whatsoever. Nothing special, but you can't complain when it comes to the execution the stickman delivers. Vocals on the record are crude, raw, and enjoyable. Combined with foreboding and disgusted lyrics, frontman Nader's vocal chops are quite listenable.

All in all, 'Suspended Society... Mutilated Variety' is a fun and nostalgic plate of thrash. Those who miss the days of Metallica's 'Master Of Puppets' or Slayer's 'Reign In Blood' should be pleased with this young band's ambition and dedication to releasing classic-sounding thrash metal. This album is a solid debut, and promises an even better sophomore release if Exile plays their cards right. Keep your eye on this band; they certainly could be going places.

Thrash metal has always been one of the first and most dominant genres in metal. Metallica, Overkill, Destruction, and plenty of other bands have scaled the surface of the music world as the pioneers of this genre. However, there doesn’t seem to be that much going on for thrash metal in today’s music scene. Thankfully, that’s where uprising Jordanian trio Exile comes in. After forming in 2008 from other projects such as Dragonrider and SoulBleed, this band has been out to breathe life back into the 80’s and 90’s style metal scene. They received the attention of some fans of their heavy and raw metal tunes after the release of their first demo in 2010, “Dead Thrashers Rising.” Now they continue their onslaught in 2012, with their debut full-length album entitled “Suspended Society... Mutilated Variety.” Loaded with 11 tracks, this record stays true to its thrash genre and will definitely attract old-school metal lovers.

The musicianship in “Suspended Society... Mutilated Variety” is solid and just about everything people would expect from an old-school thrash metal record. The vocals mostly consist of mid-pitch roars, which is rather typical for this kind of genre. All in all, they aren’t bad, but they’re nothing really special, either. The same can mostly be said for the drums, although they do see moments of complexity, especially in “A Man with Power.” However, the guitar work is where most of Exile’s musical prowess truly shines. There are plenty of great riffs and solos throughout the course of the record, and they really do bring back memories of the old days of metal. They also do contain slight hints of death metal in their tracks, and that only serves the band in the end. “Absolute Evil” and “World of Guilt” particularly have the punchiest of these riffs and solos, and they greatly demonstrate just how strong the band’s guitar work really is. If the musicianship itself wasn’t enough, even the raw sound production gives the music that 80’s and 90’s feel to it. This all adds up to raw and heavy thrash musicianship and production, and that’s not something you’ll find in many up and coming bands in the metal world.

Overall, the songs in “Suspended Society... Mutilated Variety” all pertain to the heavy, raw, and old-school thrash metal that old listeners grew incredibly fond of. Lying along the lines of bands such as Exodus and Kreator, Exile really isn’t fooling around in their tracks. They are very solid and old-fashioned metal tunes that reek of violence and musical rawness. “Absolute Evil” is definitely the best bet of this record, with vicious riffs and explosive drumming. It really revives 80’s metal from the dead, and old-school metal fans will definitely get into it. Other great tracks this album has to offer include the guitar lick-laden “World of Guilt” and the down-tuned “The Damned.” This record does, however, have plenty of room for improvement. Although this band is doing a good job of representing their genre in this album, it would be much more interesting if they were to think a little more outside of the thrash box. In other words, they really should try to expand upon the thrash metal genre in order to make way for a better and more memorable and unique sound. On the other hand, when it comes down to the band’s music itself, “Suspended Society… Mutilated Variety” is a solid and unrelenting listen.

From the looks of things, Exile is certainly taking a crack against political regime in this record, hence the title “Suspended Society... Mutilated Variety.” The album cover artwork depicts a very straightforward perspective on corrupt politics and government. It shows a man being blindfolded by a mad scientist with a cloth with the word “globalization” on it in big red letters. This trio really does have some beef going on against such political integration that would definitely cause trouble in individual countries’ cultures, laws, and values. The artwork in “Suspended Society... Mutilated Variety” also displays a group of people in olive-green jumpsuits wandering out of a building, with their eyes and mouths sewn shut. Civilians are blinded from what is right and what is wrong due to the tainted nature of politics, and their mouths are sealed so they don’t have a say in how things run in their own land. This particular illustration really ties together with the song “Absolute Evil,” where the lyrics read lines including “Is there a difference, evil or divine? Heaven or hell, is it blood or wine?” and “Evil ways have been taught, unconsciously invade our thoughts, fed on lies turned to truth...” Like pioneering thrash metal acts such as Kreator and Municipal Waste, Exile conceals a message of anti-political viewpoints that many bands of the same genre followed, starting from the earlier years.

Exile really has made a fine debut with “Suspended Society... Mutilated Variety.” The production is raw and definitely gives the music that 80’s old-school edge, and people could easily make the mistake of thinking this album was created back at that time. The musicianship, for the most part, is solid, but nothing completely out of the ordinary, besides the stellar guitar work. The music alone is violent and very old-fashioned thrash metal that fans of the old days of metal music will come to really take interest in. Even the lyrics retain the usual themes of thrash metal of corrupt politics and madness. Metal fans who are dying to hear new and modern bands bring back the heavy sounds of the 80’s and 90’s thrash really ought to give this album a shot. It’s also highly recommended to those who are just looking for some traditional and vicious thrash metal tunes. Despite the fact that, as stated earlier, this album does have room for improvement, “Suspended Society... Mutilated Variety” has proved to listeners that Exile really does have a ton of potential hidden within its metallic assault. They just need to try to broaden their regions a bit outside of the thrash zone so they can really create something special.

Exile are a band from Jordan in Asia and this is their first full length. It is pretty cool album with that 80s thrash vibe to it. The vocals are pretty harsh so they give it sort of a death metal feel but not too much. It definitely stays true to thrash. Suspended Society.... Mutilated Variety basically gives you everything a thrash record should give you. It gives you fast catchy guitar riffs, harsh vocals, a few guitar solos, and actually it has a lot of bass that is easily heard.

Like I said about the bass. It is very easily heard. I really enjoy hearing a record that you can actually hear the bass because that is very rare. There is actually a track called WTF ! that is just a straight bass solo, and honestly, it is one of the catchiest things I have ever heard. It is right in the middle of the album to give your break from the thrashy madness that you heard and are about to hear again. So it gives you a short breather before you get back up and mosh again.

The guitar work is just amazing. It is very creative and it pretty much defines the thrash genre. I really like the vocals the bass but my favorite part is for sure the riffs. I lot of guitar work in this genre really blends together and sounds the same but it feels like Exile is trying to do the opposite of that. The songs all have pretty different sounds to them, for example, listen to the song Iron Hands. It has a pretty melodic feel to it and is actually my favorite song on the album. It is is still pretty heavy but it is just extremely unique and that's why I love it. It really is hard to believe a band like this is not signed yet.

The vocals are very unique. It sounds like a harsh yell type vocal mixed with a obituary type of growl which is really fucking cool! It fits the album perfectly. Although, they aren't the best vocals I have ever heard, they still have a great sound and fit this band perfectly. Unlike some bands , the main attention isn't the vocals. I feel as if this album is focused more on riffs and the vocals just compliment those riffs extremely well!

The drummer is very consistent. He keeps a fast blast beat most all songs but they have some fills and creativity so it isn't just your average blast beat. I really like the sound of his bass pedal as well. The drums like in all thrash bands are fast and energetic but are not the craziest thing you have ever heard because they shouldn't be anyways. They are perfect the way they are and fit just fine.

Well that is all I can say about Exile's Suspended Society... Mutilated Variety. It was a really fun listen and I am extremely glad they asked me to review it. I recommend this to any metal head out there. I give this album an 18/20 for being such a good self-released record. I can not wait to hear more in the future an if you haven't checked them out yet then what are you waiting for?