EXIT STRATEGY — The Atrocity Machine
August 9, 2014, 9 years ago
(Independent)
Calgary’s death/grind-metal machine, Exit Strategy, pushes the brutality level to 11 for 36 minutes on its third full-length release, The Atrocity Machine. Its nine tracks will make you feel like you’ve been hit upside the head by a two-by-four. Exit Strategy does its death/grind thing well, but there are also elements of crossover thrash/hardcore, progressive metal, djent, and groove metal on display here. It’s an aggressive, bludgeoning punishment to your aural senses right from the furious blitz of CD-opener “Overzealot” to the electrifying finale of “Dawn Of Iniquity.” The band’s energetic and inhumane pace gives the listener an exhausting workout in extremity. They are relentless in their attack but do slow down a tad on tracks “Face Of Fear” and “Wake Up And Bleed,” which gives variation and dynamic to the fast-paced onslaught. New vocalist Wes DeLeeuw’s vicious barks, shrieks and low-pitched growls are dispersed very evenly and really compliment the brutality of the pummeling riffs. With any extreme metal band, it’s hard to distinguish itself from the pack. However, the band injects enough variation into each song to keep the listener’s attention. Although The Atrocity Machine is not perfect, Exit Strategy is on the right track.
