Living's Deal

A couple of aesthetic differences mark Explosicum’s evolution into the band that released Living’s Deal (shitty title by the way) compared to the one who released their debut a decade earlier. Those differences manifest themselves best in the artwork of the two albums and also in the song lengths and titles. You may think that Ed Repka had a hand in the cover for the Chinese band’s third full-length, but in fact it’s the work of Uncle 3, who has done quite a few pieces for other national bands in a classic thrash style. With the recognizable art style, the titles are now all in English, making this a little more marketable to international metalheads, as opposed to the dragons and Chinese characters formerly. As I mentioned, the song lengths have changed since the early days, shortening down to just three minutes apiece for Living’s Deal - a sure sign that Explosicum are not in the mood for nonsense.

However, it still doesn’t make much difference regarding the language, since the vocals have never been the clearest feature of the quartet’s work, here shrieking through a little more shrilly and spitefully than the shouted style on the debut. Along with an increase in pace, this brings the album more in line with German influences than the original Bay Area sound, though early Exodus may provide a reference for those wanting to know what the vocals add to the sound. Downpicking is still the order of the day, accelerated on crazed rampages like ‘No Law No Sky’ and the title track onto the fringes of death metal, just as Kreator did on Pleasure to Kill when thrash became too constraining for the band’s energy. I get the feeling too that Explosicum might have been listening to more crossover thrash while writing these songs, seeing as the sped-up slams and weighty bridges (with desperate cries of “Thrash!” included) err on familiarity with some features of DRI or SSS songs.

As you’d expect from that description, Living’s Deal absolutely does not give a shit about slowing down or throwing the listener a bone in the form of variation or subtlety. Explosicum hunker down to thrash their way through 28 minutes of thrash, making the point clear by naming songs ‘Thrash Out Your Brain’, ‘Die for Thrash’, and ‘Thrash & Claaaaash’, which is one ‘a’ less than ‘Slaaaaaaayer!!!’ on Conflict if anyone is keeping count. The reason why that isn’t a problem is that the riffs are relentless and mostly spot on, whichever group they may be drawing influence from at any particular moment. The frenzy of speed generated and sustained owes something to the frequent ambushes of lead guitar, which blaze out suddenly and skillfully, in fact leading to particular destinations rather than shredding at random. Thus, a beautiful contrast is formed between merciless riffs without a hint of melody and plenty of lead guitar magic.

One slight issue with the sound of Living’s Deal can be found in the annoying clang of the drums, which has a tom that sounds like a crowbar on the lid of a metal bin; however, the immense skill and speed with which they are handled (see ‘Endless Killing’ for a perfect demonstration) vastly overshadow the brief moments when a groove demands repeated clunky beats. Other than this minor problem, I can’t think of much wrong with the album, especially since I find the style the most agreeable in the general thrash sphere. Explosicum have done well not to copy directly from any particular bands while also nabbing all the best riffs from original, extreme, and hardcore-influenced forms of the genre. I’m not really sure what the phrase “living’s deal” means, but I know that the album means really good thrash.