EXILIA – Unleashed

Exilia’s first album Unleashed was released during the summer of 2004, but for some reason they didn’t catch the attention of Metal Express until seeing them live with Rammstein in November. According to their Web site, they caught a lot of Rammstein fans’ attention during this tour … and no wonder, they sound great both live and on record!

It’s not often that you get a new CD in your grubby hands that makes you want to shout out to the world: “Run out and buy it!”, but this is definitely one of them!

Exilia have a very funky look and sound; kind of like Doro Pesch meets Mike Patton! This is what modern rock music should sound like! Masha, their charismatic singer with her long blonde dreadlocks and her impressive and powerful voice, is any Heavy Metal girl’s idol! Seeing her jump around on stage, or listening to the album, her energy comes out, and it’s not hard to see that this is a band that can get along well on all levels.

Exilia are from Italy, but luckily they managed to remove that Italian sound from their music and their pronunciation. Working with G.U.N. Records, that also produced HIM and Guano Apes, has proved to be very successful for Exilia. Touring, with among others, Pink, Die Artze, and now finally Rammstein, surely has helped Exilia build a name for themselves.

Many will compare Exilia to Guano Apes, mainly because of their strong front figure. The rest of the band: drummer Ge, bass player Random, and guitarist Elioalien, provide a heavy undertone with lots of Nu-Metal inspiration. There are lots of aggressive guitar riffs blended with Mashas voice going from soft, but hoarse, to raw and roaring!

Marsha has also written a lot of the band’s lyrics; going from sad and personal, to angry and crazy. “Starseed” and “Without You” are beautiful, sad songs. “Starseed” was written in memory of a friend that passed away too early. “Stop Playing God” and “Where I’m Wrong” is when their anger clearly comes out!

Unleashed has shown that Exilia no longer are underdogs in this industry. And if you can’t see them in concert, you can run out and buy this CD!!!