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░ ██ ██ Artist: Asphyxia ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Exit: Reality █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 1991 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2017-01-03 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Thrash Metal ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Rumble Records ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ Belgian thrashers Asphyxia fell victims of a fate █
█ congruent to many European acts purporting the █
█ same style. They formed a hair too late to make █
█ much of an impact after their demos hit █
█ circulation, so out squeaks Exit: Reality in 1991 █
█ to minimal fanfare both then and now. As I've gone █
█ back to re-appraise some of these more obscure █
█ thrash acts I can't help but notice a bevy of █
█ trends and patterns. There was little to no █
█ incremental advancement being made in the thrash █
█ formula by this point sans pushing the envelope █
█ even further toward what was becoming death metal █
█ proper. Dark Angel were busy suffocating the █
█ listener via swampy, lugubrious mid-paced riffs, █
█ and it appears as if Asphyxia took a page from █
█ their book when they finally got around to █
█ recording Exit: Reality. █
█ First impressions definitely count, and boasting █
█ one of the better '80s airbrush-styled cover arts █
█ I've come across, Exit: Reality set the scene with █
█ a contrast between the lush expanse of nature and █
█ what appears to be an imposing nuclear firefall █
█ not unlike the iconic representations of Game Over █
█ and Survive. The music itself is worthy of at █
█ least a few sore necks, with a muscular, █
█ belligerent mid-paced jaunt defining the lion's █
█ share of the record, with a few swampy churns █
█ diffusing into the choppier, mosh-oriented rhythm █
█ guitar lines. Definitely some Sepultura in here as █
█ well, with parts of "Health for Sale" sounding █
█ straight out of Arise. Of course, it helps (at █
█ least in this context) that Ramos' madcap rants █
█ are delivered in a bark redolent of Cavalera █
█ himself. █
█ It is certainly a storm of well-constructed riffs, █
█ but just like Time Does Not Heal, something is █
█ lost in the translation for whatever reason. █
█ Asphyxia get away with more because their songs █
█ are more concise and snappy, but take "The One Who █
█ Minds the Worm" for example; between some solid █
█ fret abuse we are left with a lot of space filler █
█ that easily eludes the memory. "One Big Family" █
█ feels like some of Anthrax's heavier fare, what █
█ with the more mosh-conducive construction and █
█ endearing over-reliance on gang shouts. "Where the █
█ Shadows Are Dark" (no shit...) sounds like it was █
█ influenced from Exodus, with that staccato-driven █
█ main riff and Ramos' more nasal, sneering █
█ inflection. Again, the album feels more faceless █
█ than deficient in any one sector. █
█ Well played, standard Slayer-inspired fare just █
█ wasn't going to get many looks by the time of █
█ release, but I can't say that many will regret █
█ passing this one up. The musicianship is █
█ consistently above average, ballistic and █
█ appreciably begrimed with its intense focus on █
█ cranking the riffing dial, but to what end? █
█ Certainly not all memorable songs, because all I █
█ have ever taken away from Exit: Reality is that █
█ opener "Capital Punishment" sounds like "South of █
█ Heaven" and I keep waiting for that iconic █
█ Lombardo drum fill that never comes. It leaves one █
█ wanting, but there was definitely some potential █
█ here. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Capital Punishment 5:07 ░
░ 2. Violence First 3:51 ░
░ 3. Slice of Death 4:09 ░
░ 4. Health for Sale 6:14 ░
░ 5. Paranoia Time 3:46 ░
░ 6. The One Who Minds the Worm 4:13 ░
░ 7. One Big Family 4:35 ░
░ 8. Where Shadows are Dark 4:07 ░
░ 9. Mr. Pain 3:18 ░
░ 10. No Thanks 4:35 ░
░ 43:55 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
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