Review by Kostas on January 29, 2023.

After listening to the disappointing "Profugus Mortis", I was pretty sure there were only two possible things Blackguard could do next. They would either continue composing boring and pointless songs or recognise their old mistakes and have a new and different approach to music. But, after listening to "Firefight", I was caught by surprise. Somehow this band mamaged to do both.

First of all, this album seems much more mature and well-composed in comparison to the previous one. This time, the keyboards do not sound noisy and annoying. They are instead the background instrument they were always supposed to be, even if they sound uninspired. Same goes for the vocals and bass. Although they are not the frenetic noises of "Profugus Mortis", there is still a lack of intelligence and they end up being boring and even tiring. Moreover, the general song structure is of little or no interest, with no fresh ideas or anything that could give this band a separate identity. Songwriting, on the other hand is one level higher, with several meaningful lyrics to dig into.

The best thing about this album is the guitars. There are some pretty good rifts throughout "Firefight" and some really enjoyable solos. The most typical example of this good element and the best track of the album is no other than "Wastelands". The great recording quality and mixing should be appreciated too. Unfortunately, some catchy solos and the aforementioned good quality are not enough to make this album pass the rate of 50%. The lack of depth and essence are still present, with nothing special or memorable.

"Firefight" is definitely not the album you should throw into your trash can. Seeing how Blackguard evolve and listening to some mediocre melodic death metal can be of some interest under specific circumstances. However, I guarantee it is an album that won't stay in your mind for a long time either. Maybe it will only stay in your subconsious as the typical example of an average epic metal release. Nothing more and nothing less. Let's just hope Blackguard continue to evolve. Hopefully...

Rating: 4.3 out of 10

Review by Greg on February 23, 2023.

YouTube might have become full of advertisements, and maybe never was people's first choice as a music player, but its suggestions are often worth giving a shot. It's with this mindset that I was exposed to these young Polish thrashers, who have watched their first LP Path To The Unknown hit the shelves this summer. Of course a debut album is, in a way, a milestone to always be proud of, but I'm telling you, Exul have way more reasons to be satisfied, given how good it turned out to be.

The opener 'Stupidity Regime' is the most apt start to Path To The Unknown, but it doesn't tell all the story, and arguably doesn't end up among my favourites here, maybe for the excessive usage of a not particularly successful riff. Indeed, already the second track 'Rise Again' rearranges the same principles in a more satisfying manner, while 'Weaker Ones', 'Lose All Control' and 'Fight For Your Liberty' bring a heavy dose of the good ol' thrashing, yet never presenting something that could be classified as 'unrefined' or 'cookie-cutter' in the slightest. Nowhere this is more evident than during the astonishing lead guitar parts – the band line-up reads like a bunch of nobodies at first sight, but main member Jakub Wróbel and frontman Bogdan Sroka display a finesse that many seasoned retro-thrash outfits would kill to possess. Oh, and they never forget to always insert a refrain that could be shouted along, to boot.

I've also greatly appreciated how Exul ignored what seems to be an unwritten obligation nowadays, that is, to include a completely slow song in the tracklist, and many bands would want to learn something about it. 'The Hunt' and especially the monumental title-track bring to the table whatever variation you need, without ending up being monotonous pieces that crawl around at the same pace for their entire length, making all interests vanish – not to mention, again, the simply glorious lead sections found in both. 'Path To The Unknown' settles on a different plane already from its celestial acoustic intro, and I'm pretty sure it would have made up the perfect closer for the album, swapping places with 'Weaker Ones', but that's as far as my complaints go. That's the way to do it, folks. Bravo.

Strictly speaking, Exul have everything it takes at its right place. Only the constantly yelled vocals, courtesy of Sroka, lack a bit of variety, reminding me of another Polish outfit, the boneheaded R.O.D. – but the stellar leadwork makes it a flaw worth overlooking. I'm hardly an authority in the matter of new releases, but Path To The Unknown easily ranks among the best thrash 2022 has to offer, to these ears. Needless to say, I'll be following these guys way more closely from now on.

Rating: 8.4 out of 10

Review by Carl on April 18, 2022.

I remember first running into these guys back in my teens, finding a copy of their first album Life Sucks ..., with it's crappy so-bad-it-becomes-good cover art and unpolished, raucous musical content, and later buying Tower Of Spite which bored the arse out of me for reasons I can't really explain. It just did. Because of this I really haven't been paying attention to their dealings from that album last mentioned on, until recently I bought this album for cheap, and I must say that I'm still not totally on board with their brand of thrash metal with some slight crusty edges.

Contrary to Tower Of Spite, I do know exactly what it is that bugs me on this particular album, and that is the lack of velocity. Opener 'Bastards', that has a cool Amebix feel to it, acts more like an intro than a genuine song, with 'Descent Into The Unconsciousness' being the real opener. A Testament/Metallica style riff promises a thrash tornado about to be unleashed, but deteriorates into a mid-tempo slog with some tedious lackluster drumming right away, something that keeps popping up throughout the album, with tracks like 'Veil Of Tears', 'Sphereborn' or 'Mammonite' as examples of this. The music moves along, sure, but it never really gets going, if you know what I mean. It's not like they turned into a 90's groove metal band, but as a thrash band this falls flat on its face. Step on the accelerator, guys! It's the one right next to the brakes.

By now, you probably think that I hate this album, but that's not the case either. There is quite some to be enjoyed here. Take the double kick driven parts in 'Middle Third' and the aforementioned 'Mammonite' that manage to propel dealings straight forward. It also has to be mentioned that throughout the album the riffing is tight and on point, with a cool sound to the guitar work production-wise, and vocals that sound awesome and, in true hardcore punk fashion, really menacing. Interestingly enough, my personal favorite track is the doomed-out slow burner 'Beyond Jerusalem', sounding like Celtic Frost one time and early Paradise Lost the next. Great track all-round!

The cd versions have 3 bonus tracks. One original, 'Maimed To Beg', which finally sees the band diving head first into some manic hardcore thrash rage, even if it sounds a tad neutered by the perhaps too clean (for a band like Cerebral Fix at least) production. The other bonus tracks are cover versions of old school UK punk bands G.B.H. and The Damned. Nice to hear once or twice but pretty redundant in the end.

This is a pretty so-and-so album in its totality. It's not a bad effort, but it's clear the members were bored with what they had been doing, something underlined by the fact that in the band picture two of their members are wearing shirts of UK dance acts EMF and The KLF. Good chance that they were perhaps looking to try doing something different with their sound. They still had the Bay Area thrash metal riffs, but scaled back on the speed, while injecting groovier rhythms, ending up sounding confused, unfocused and, unfortunately, boring. Compared to the chaotic-yet-highly-entertaining approach of their debut, this album is a slog struggling to get started, even if there are some good ideas present.

Too bad they aren't good enough.

Rating: 6 out of 10