XENTRIX — Shattered Existence (review)

XENTRIX — Shattered Existence album cover Album · 1989 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
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.
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