Kingcrimsonprog Of all the Metal subgenres, Thrash has always been my favourite. If its fast, hard and ‘80s, then chances are I’m going to look on it favourably. That being said, the first time I heard this album, I didn’t like it.

It seemed not just a bit derivative, but rather massively derivative. It sounded initially to me that whole sections were lifted right out of Master Of Puppets and Ride The Lightning. I mean either those, or The Legacy by Testament. Looking around at reviews online to make sure I wasn’t just being crazy, I’ve picked up that its not just me, this is something a lot of people feel. Basically; for a British album, it sounds an awful lot like it was made in the San Francisco scene.

Then it hit me. “Isn’t that a good thing? You love those albums!”

This 1989 debut from Preston’s Xentrix may not be totally original, but it does deliver another 40 minutes of what I love: Tight meaty riffs, dry punchy drums and intermittent breaks of harmony and melody that elevates it beyond just a sonic battering, into something a bit more ambitious. You can really hear a lot of talent on the instruments too, these guys can play. They can write too, they really know how to balance all the elements and are masters of nailing the formula.

The lyrics are also a lot better than a lot of their peers too. There’s still the usual topics like televangelism, power, drugs and conflict; but handled in more of a mature & intelligent way than many other bands. Speaking of better than peers, the production job has no business being this good for a British Thrash band’s debut. This album sounds brilliant, exactly what you want from this sort of music. Its really a shame the band didn’t make it bigger.

The only two minor flaws here are firstly that the vocals aren’t very distinctive, don’t help the band stand out from the pack, and secondly that apart from a few below-mentioned highlights, the songs themselves aren’t very memorable. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not boring, its all great when you’re listening to it, but you probably couldn’t whistle it two days later. They’re perfect in every way except that final indefinable way that makes the likes of Exodus or Testament more memorable than someone like Gammacide or Attomica.

The band more than make up for it though; with aforementioned instrumental skill, clever lyrics, superb formula and the perfect production. Although this probably won’t break into many Top-10 lists, it certainly wouldn’t look out of place in a Top 50 or Top 100 list. Highlights include ‘Balance Of Power,’ ‘Dark Enemy’ and ‘Heaven Cent.’ Check it out if you like Thrash and don’t mind a bit of very on-the-sleeve homage to their influences.

UMUR "Shattered Existence" is the debut full-length studio album by UK, Preston based thrash metal act Xentrix. The album was released through Roadracer Records in September 1989. Xentrix were formed under the Sweet Vengeance monicker in 1985, but changed their name to Xentrix in 1988. They recorded four albums before disbanding in 1997.

The music on "Shattered Existence" is US influenced thrash metal. While Xentrix don´t sound exactly like them, Metallica is a huge influence. The riffing style, the rhythms, and especially the use of multi-harmony guitar parts, lead the listener´s thoughts in that direction. Chris Astley doesn´t have a very distinct sounding or especially powerful voice, but his delivery still suits the music relatively well. The band are generally very well playing, and it´s obvious we´re dealing with skilled musicians.

The material on the 9 track, 43:25 minutes long album could have been a bit more catchy and memorable, but that´s not a major issue, and "Shattered Existence" is still a great thrash metal release while it plays. The sound production deserves a mention too, as it´s a poweful and meaty production, which suits the music perfectly. It´s probably one of the best sounding thrash metal productions I´ve heard from the 80s.

"Shattered Existence" is upon conclusion a good quality debut album by Xentrix, and at this point, certainly one of the better thrash metal relases to come out of Britain. These guys are tight playing professionals, the album is well produced, and the material reasonable interesting. It´s of course in the latter department, that Xentrix falls a bit short. They simply don´t have enough identity in their songwriting, and their tracks aren´t instantly catchy enough either. As written above it´s not a huge issue, when "Shattered Existence" is as enjoyable as it is when it plays, but it´s not necessarily an album that is memorable in the long run. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is still deserved though.

Vim Fuego Xentrix were often called Metallica wannabes. Well, who wouldn’t want to be Metallica?!

It was a bit of a shallow and clueless comparison though. Yes, the Explorer guitar has featured throughout the band’s history, and both bands played thrash metal, but the similarities end there. Xentrix weren’t as heavy as Metallica, playing a far more melodic, less progressive style of thrash. The riffs weren’t as chunky, but then again, who’s riffs are? And vocalist Chris Astley was more tuneful and less aggressive than Hetfield. None of this is to say “Shattered Existence” isn’t still hard edged thrash. It’s not “Pink Bubbles Go Ape”.

The band’s socially aware lyrics were mostly intelligent and thoughtful, first track “No Compromise” being the exception. It’s one of those “have pride in yourself, don’t be ashamed of what you are” type songs. While the sentiment is noble, it’s just a bit clunky. The lines “Don't think what you parents might say/If it's too noisy, fast and loud/Just fuck 'em all, and do it anyway/Stand up and be proud” have always grated. The song is aimed at young metalheads who often copped abuse in the late 80s for their music and dress, because it was a far less tolerant time. Even so, this always seemed just a bit childish. No matter. “No Compromise” makes up for its limp lyrics by being a bit of a headbanger.

“Balance of Power” has one of those great thrash intros which bands don’t seem to manage these days. It bursts straight in with a powerful riff, which becomes the musical theme for the rest of the song. Xentrix knew the value of a powerful chorus too. Even on a first listen, the refrain “What you want ain't always good for you/It's just the way the balance swings for you/Balance swings for you” is thought provoking and compelling, and the simple, irresistible melody makes it stick.

And funnily enough, the band’s keen sense of melody and song structure lulls the listener into a false sense of security. Just when it seems they have hit a comfortable groove, down goes the accelerator, and Xentrix are thrashing with the best of them.

The lyrics throughout are excellent, not counting “No Compromise”. They are oblique enough for the listener to interpret their own way, but at the same time hint in the direction of where the song is actually coming from. “Back In The Real World” could be about hopeless dreamers the world over, or it could be about the music industry. Is “Crimes” about politics or self-doubt? The “Dark Enemy” is probably drug addiction, but it could also be depression. “Bad Blood” is about conflict, but is it an inner conflict, conflict between nations, interpersonal, political, a class conflict? “Position of Security” touches on living life too safe and not taking any risks and questions whether that is truly a life.

Religion comes in for some direct criticism though. “Reason for Destruction” targets religious war and deadly dogma. Even though the song was recorded in 1989, it remains chillingly relevant still. Final track “Heaven Cent” zeros in on how religion recruits the the innocent and feeble by playing on their fears and insecurities, while all the time bleeding them dry financially.

If possible, get the expanded version of this album, which has the “Ghostbusters” single tacked on the end. The movie theme song cover and the other two songs, “Nobody’s Perfect” an anti-drug song from the band’s days as Sweet Vengeance, and “Interrogate”, another older song, were all recorded in a single session for BBC radio one’s Friday Rock Show.

“Ghostbusters” became a big hit for the band, even though they ran into legal trouble with the parody artwork used initially. It was also a bit of an albatross around their neck, as anyone who has heard the “Dilute To Taste” EP knows (“We’re sick to focking death of ‘Ghostbusters!’”). “Nobody’s Perfect”, in particular shows how the band had evolved and matured. It sounds like a Testament/Exodus cast off with Adrian Edmondson going full Vim Fuego on the vocals. Wisely, this was left off the original release of the album.

Often overshadowed by its more mature but less engaging successor “For Whose Advantage?”, “Shattered Existence” demonstrates a lot of youthful enthusiasm, and showed the potential was there for greater things. That Xentrix didn’t achieve those greater things could be down to a number of factors, but the major factor is probably the changing musical climate. Thrash faded, death metal emerged, bands changed sounds, labels changed tack, discarding and refreshing their rosters, and Xentrix got caught right in the middle of it.

Luckily, we have “Shattered Existence” to show how fucking good this band actually was.