Polish quintet Exlibris combine power, traditional and melodic metal into 'Humagination'.
Only their second album in ten years, Polish quintet Exlibris combine power, traditional and melodic metal into 'Humagination'. In lesser hands this might be chewed into an ugly mulch of noise, but for these guys it's turned into one stonker of an album.
Led by Krzysztof Sokołowski's huge vocal performance, his voice is matched by the striking riffs of Dani Lechmański and Misiek Ślusarski's unforgiving drums. These driving forces are what makes 'Humagination' feel as though it's being delivered in a wind tunnel such is the power unleashed upon you.
The brilliantly named 'Hellphoria' is impossibly catchy, built on a galloping guitar riff and glass-shattering vocal high notes. The huge chorus of 'Left Behind' makes you want to raise a fist in the air and shout something, anything, to release a surge of adrenaline that has built up to now. Some perfectly layered synth and orchestration elevates the already soaring choruses to another level – the charging madness of 'Elemental' encapsulating that beautifully in just over four breathless minutes.
It's impossible to keep such a high momentum going throughout the whole album but even the slower-paced 'Dreamcraft' is a huge chunk of power metal with squealing guitars and expansive orchestral touches. Exlibris soon return to top speed shortly after with 'All Guts, No Glory' courtesy of some battering drum riffs and storming guitar charges.
It's clear, and not a little surprising, that power metal thrives so much in the present. It's far from done and the same can be said for Exlibris. Where these guys have been hiding is anyone's guess, but the covers have been removed and it's time for them to shine.
Dan Bond
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