EXORCIZPHOBIA – Digitotality

Exorcizphobia is a hard working Thrash band from the Czech Republic. Since their formation in 2005 the band has released a handful of split EPs and full length albums. Digitotality is their third such full length, a further exploration of a sound that hearkens back to  foundational Bay area Thrash Metal. Given some extra lift by a new rhythm section in bass player Ales Kosta and drummer Tomas Kejkrt, the pair join lead guitarist Ondra Sima and rhythm guitarist/vocalist Tomas Skorepa, the band’s sole remaining founder. The combination results in a very heavy, propulsive Thrash groove similar but not derivative to early Testament.

The eight song album kicks off with “Desires of the Flesh”, an effective intro to the band’s flawlessly executed traditionalist approach. Sima displays his versatility, throwing in both a slower solo and then leading the band in a pyrotechnic display later in the track

“Corporate Dance” cues the listener up for a series of “evil business” themed songs, including the title track and “Profit At All Costs”. These themes evidently strike real anger within Exorcizphobia, they approach the material with real fury. “Digitotality”scarcely leaves room for a breath between the notes and deserves a spot on anyone’s 2020 year-end Thrash playlist. “Profit At All Costs” menaces just as hard and utilizes some classic call-and-response lyrics, effectively underscoring the collective anger of the economically downtrodden.

“Ancient Deception” builds with a slower tension, an inexorable march across the sonic landscape. The track builds and builds, crafting a journey in three stages until the last third of the song where all four musicians go off in an extended musical break guaranteed to keep heads banging. The song showcases new skinsman Kejkrt’s talents especially well, giving him the chance to alternate speeds like a race car driver shifting rapidly through all his gears. “Oumuamua” is next, an enthralling instrumental named after the mysterious interstellar object discovered in 2017. Like another great cosmically-named Metal instrumental, Metallica’s “Orion”, the track uses alternating time signatures to create mood and motion.

Exorcizphobia wisely bring the Digitotality project to a close with the thundering earblast of “Perception Is The Key”, a deceptively longer track which again calls to mind early Testament or Kill ‘Em All style Metallica but adds a slower, moody guitar solo for contrast. Digitotality hits all the marks and is a great pickup for any fan of Thrash that is both thoughtful and hard-hitting; hopefully Skorepa continues on the path he’s blazed and that he can keep this particular unit of musicians together to drive Exorcizphobia to further musical heights.