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XENTRIX
Bury The Pain

Listenable (2019)
Rating: 5.5/10

Back in 1989, British thrash act Xentrix released their debut album Shattered Existence. Although I was not the biggest fan of the band I still thought that their Americanized brand of thrash would enable them to compete with the influx of Bay Area stars and Teutonic terrors that swamped the scene.

However, I always found the sound of Xentrix rather dry and banal, and by 1992’s third album Kin the downfall had begun; the band somehow diluted and following trends in a genre that was now struggling to compete with an alternative rock scene that was taking over. Indeed, only Xentrix’s peers Metallica seemed to succeed, but even with their bland “black” album (Metallica, 1991) it was clear that something negative was happening to the metal scene.

I always preferred my British thrash darker and grittier; Cerebral Fix, Sabbat and Hydra Vein were my thing, although in spite of their talent and rawness they were bereft of the gloss that Xentrix seemed to sport. But with such shimmer and shine Xentrix still bucked the trend, and in 1996 fourth album Scourge emerged. It was the first outing not to feature vocalist Chris Astley who had been replaced by Simon Gordan, but upon reflection it was just another mid-90s groove metal slab of soulless tunes. And then that was that; the band parting ways the following year.

Yet like so many other seemingly defunct acts, Xentrix stirred once again… roused like some dormant beast to strike back and hail the metal hordes. But sadly, and just like other promised yet tepid returns (Sacred Reich and Cerebral Fix spring to mind), this fifth opus from the Lancashire outfit is even less exciting.

The band are now fronted by Bull-Riff Stampede guitarist Jay Walsh, and although original members Kristian Havard (guitar) and Dennis Gasser (drums) feature, they just can’t save Bury The Pain from being a formulaic experience.

Firstly, that cover… c’mon guys, why resort to type and lose yourself immediately amongst the thrash pretenders by having an Ed Repka-styled cover (courtesy of Dan Goldsworthy)? Secondly, it’s just so predictable and generic in sound. I know this is something that I should’ve expected, but I did think the band would return re-energised and snappy. However, just like fellow UK thrashers Onslaught, they’ve become archetypes, victims of the genre that has once again become crowded with sound-alikes.

Xentrix were always tight and accomplished musically, but there is a distinct lack of variety in spite of some effective melodies. And so to say that the band is back with a bang would be an overstatement of the highest order, because just like their early albums, Bury The Pain feels cold, dull and missing something.

On the positive side, Kristian Harvard’s guitar work remains solid (‘World Of Mouth’), and some of the acoustic intros – a staple feature of any thrash act since 1985 – are evocative and the riffs are good at times.

Some of the strongest cuts – or should I say personal favourites – are ‘Deathless And Devine’ and ‘Bleeding Out’, but they still do little to deviate from what we’ve known about Xentrix since day one. The predictable Testament-styled approaches are mixed with an Exodus-like aggression, and that’s where the negatives creep in. This is still tried and tested thrash featuring a vocal performance that doesn’t sit right with me, even though Jay Walsh is not too dissimilar to Chris Astley – and maybe that’s a problem too? But then again, I’m not sure how Xentrix could have ever won me over.

Bury The Pain does not teach us anything new and certainly doesn’t put the pretenders in their place, but Xentrix never had that ability previously anyway. And so as the ten tracks trudge by I can only act on instinct and cast the return of Xentrix to the wayside; Bury The Pain added to my pile of other Xentrix releases that have gathered dust over time.

Neil Arnold

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