Amidst the meat and potatoes retro goodness being pumped through Rip & Tear, X.I.L possess enough quirks and vibrancy to develop their own identity. Overall, the material offers plenty of fun within its rough around the edges aesthetics. It’s a shame, as clearly X.I.L have riffs to burn. Tracks like “Breakneck,” boasting a slower, dirty intro before hitting the afterburners, and relentless assault of “Motorcharge,” featuring some cheesy arse samples, are fun in the moment jams, a theme of the album where the sugar rush highs are enjoyable but wear off quickly, with questionable staying power. It’s a pretty solid example of what X.I.L have to offer throughout Rip & Tear, and the solid riffing, ripping solos, feelgood vibes and frantic pacing exemplify something of a party anthem thrash/speed/rock ‘n roll combo.īassist/vocalist Austin James possesses a motormouthed drunken, punk-thrash snarl that doesn’t always hit the mark but lends the album a certain unhinged edge. “Speedemons” showcases the band’s penchant for retro speed metal and light speed assaults, complete with gang vocal chants and rough-hewn charms. The riffy instrumental marks a solid start to proceedings. It’s all a blast of breakneck old school thrash and speed metal riffs, flatout drum battery and crisp but retro sounding production. That being said, the opening title track thrums and tinkles through a delicate introduction, firing off an early trick shot before kicking into gear, much as the song and album title suggest. Rip & Tear pulls no punches and leaves all pretenses at the fucking garage door. Fast, loud and mean metal is what these young guns specialize in. The album drips with speed, aggression and solid chops, exuding a fun, rocking vibe and hard living attitude to do the legendary Motörhead proud. Hellbent on creating noisy, punky, belligerent thrash, X.I.L bring tons of livewire riffage and energy into the equation, blazing a trail of loose, drunken rock ‘n roll, old school thrash and speed metal. Kicking off my thrash promos of 2022 is an unheralded act out of Texas, named X.I.L, dropping their self-released debut LP, Rip & Tear. A good old blast of feisty thrash is always welcome, especially as we swing into the trials, tribulations and hopefully good times of another uncertain year. Following a pretty damn solid year for the thrash genre in 2021, fans of the legendary, often gateway metal genre will be buzzed for more of the same quality in 2022.
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