Vrexiza was formed back in 2019 in Toronto by three musicians that were aiming to play black metal influenced by several of the rawer and more traditional European variants of the genre. Their self-titled demo first saw release digitally back in February but was recently given a cassette version courtesy of the ever-reliable Signal Rex. Like many of the groups they pull inspiration from, Vrexiza has chosen to keep themselves masked in a bit of mystery, only offering a Bandcamp profile and letting their jagged and aggressive riffs speak for themselves. And while there’s certainly some room for the band to grow and really put their own spin on this style, there’s no denying this demo showcases a level of polish and focus not always heard this early on.
The promo material that came with the demo mentions that the band pulls heavily from French, Finnish, and Ukrainian influences, and that last bit is what first came to mind as I made my way through these tracks. With a warlike cadence and unrelenting drums giving way to some almost rock leaning drumbeats during the mid-tempo sections, Vrexiza gives off a sound that channels equal amounts of Hate Forest, Satanic Warmaster, and even some of the rawer edges of the earlier Les Légions Noires bands. You wouldn’t know that these guys hail from Canada if you listened to them blind, and that’s a positive considering how many North American artists try to capture that same raw aggression and cold melodies of their European counterparts without fully pulling it off. Across the four tracks Vrexiza varies the tempo a bit more than you might expect, hitting those warlike blasts and mid-tempo sections where the bass drives things forward and colder melodies are layered over top. But the emphasis remains on the individual riffs, with little in the way of distracting intros or interludes to take away from the harshness. For a demo the recording quality is quite strong, as while the drums do pop out in the mix occasionally the guitar, bass, and drums are all easy to make out while still retaining some rawness. The approach is admittedly quite familiar and with some sections reminding me a bit more of Hate Forest and others bringing the likes of Baptism to mind, there’s still room for Vrexiza to find some elements that really separate themselves from their inspirations.
Two of the three members contribute vocals, resulting in some sections where both high and low screams come tearing through your speakers with maximum intensity. Vrexiza’s primary style is a higher pitched scream which is where I get a lot of additional Finnish influence seeping in, with the back-up vocals heading into a lower demonic growl that fleshes out the sound a bit more. Again, it’s worth mentioning that for a demo the sound remains well balanced, with the vocals standing slightly above the dense instrumentation rather than being buried beneath it. This may be a small detail overall, but it makes a difference when comparing Vrexiza to many of the other black metal bands at this earlier demo stage.
Although they may have left themselves with plenty of room to further develop their own nuances that will help their material stand out further from their influences, Vrexiza has started off strong. Their demo already showcases a devotion to the riff that isn’t afraid to deviate tempos while keeping a raw and aggressive sound throughout, and with solid production values there’s plenty to appreciate about what their first four tracks have to offer. Fans of the aforementioned black metal acts will definitely want to check this one out. Vrexiza is available from Signal Rex.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg
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