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