Ask any metalhead of a certain age and they’ll tell you the nineties have a lot to answer for. A sudden and seismic change in trends saw the death of Thrash, Glam, and other associated sub-genres, and the unprecedented rise of the Grunge and Alternative scenes. What was popular one minute was outdated the next, and while many bands simply weren’t able to survive, others tried embracing the change.
One such band was Californian quartet Excel. Formed in 1985, the Venice act began life as a Hardcore/Crossover act, producing two high-quality albums in the shape of 1987’s Split Image and 1989 follow-up The Joke’s On You. Their time, however, was to end shortly after and in a very different place after the release of final record Seeking Refuge. Joining the likes of Vio-Lence, Forbidden, Sacred Reich, and D.R.I. in their almost terminal nineties era, Excel chose to tread a different path; one which satisfied them but ultimately led to the same (albeit temporary) musical graveyard as the others.
Now, while founding members Dan Clements and Shaun Ross begin work on new material, Southern Lord Records has reissued the band’s difficult third album (complete with revised artwork) for everyone to enjoy without having to resort to tracking down battered old overpriced copies on Ebay.
Produced by Ron Champagne, Seeking Refuge sounds exactly like you’d expect at the hands of someone with ties to bands like Jane’s Addiction and Alice In Chains. Songs like the crawling “Riptide” and the upbeat “United Naturally In True Youth” mix with the Black Sabbath stoner vibe of opener “Unenslaved” and the obvious Grunge influences in songs like “Plastic Cracks,” “Drowned Out” and closer “Downpressor.”
Despite Clements’ noticeable change in vocal delivery, the band’s earlier sound emerges on cuts like “Hair Like Christ” and the quite superb “Take Your Part Gotta Encourage” which features a guest appearance from Bad Brains frontman H.R. (aka Paul D Hudson), the song a total riff-ride that deserves another chance to be heard. Meanwhile, the intro to “Overview” manages to sound like something more akin to Korn.
From its fuzzy bass tones to Max Asher‘s drums and the sadly departed Brandon Rudley‘s overworked Wah pedal, everything on here sounds like the mid-nineties in a nutshell. Old ideas converge with new ones; some brilliantly, some not quite so well but all indicative of the era. Invention, reinvention, the crossing over of different genres, Seeking Justice is back for a wider and more accepting audience this time.
Buy the album here:
https://excelsl.bandcamp.com/album/seeking-refuge
7 / 10
GARY ALCOCK