You have to admire the relentless spirit of Tom Liebing. He recently unleashed Rodent (With Glasses) and now he’s onto his main project Exxperior. This one man thrash metal entity from Germany is proof that it can be done successfully and kick major ass in the process. This will be the second release from the band, following Call for Sanity (2011), and although I have not heard that initial release the new album Killing Entertainment is a brutal affair.
All in a good way though, since the brutality is music to my ears. In fact the thrash metal quotient is set an all-time high on this release, ushering in a selection of tasty riffs and aggression that sounds killer. Tom handles all the guitars, bass and drum programming, while bringing in a slew of guest vocalists for all the individual tracks.
Numbers like “Science” and my personal favorite “Toxic Avenger” dive straight into the attack; relentless at times and proving that Tom means business. But at the heart of it though, tracks like “I am Your Death” (vocals by Michael Stahl) and “Warden of Infinity” (vocals by Mika Eronen) stand out the most, but getting Entropy’s Gerry Schreinert to sing on “Armor of Hate” blew it away for me big time! I love the man’s vocals, so it fit like a glove.
Tom also takes a few bold steps on this release with tracks 10 through 14 all linked together to tell an interesting story entitled “The Curse of Misery”. The song is quite impressive, utilizing some unique vocal talents of Mitsch from Warforger, Lenny from Dustbolt, Falk from Bitchhamer and Bada from Nator. As far as the music goes, it’s progressive as hell and spirals out of control in parts, but also takes the listener on a musical adventure. It’s not unlike Twister Sister’s Horror-Teria starting with the beginning and then moving into Captain Howdy and finishing off with Street Justice. Let me just say that Tom is one bold cat to pull this off in a thrash metal song.
Killing Entertainment is a big step forward, striving to improve upon the typical thrash palate of yore. That fresh coat of paint Exxperior utilizes here is what I admire about Tom Leibing and I for one will champion anything this man puts out.
Kenneth Gallant, Editor HMS
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