Belgium Thrash metal.
Asphyxia - Exit: Reality (Rumble) 1991
1. "Capital Punishment"
(5:06)
2. "Violence First" (3:49)
3. "Slice Of Death" (4:05)
4. "Health For Sale" (6:10)
5. "Paranoia Time" (3:42)
6. "The One Who Minds The Worm" (4:07)
7. "One Big Family" (4:33)
8. "Where Shadows Are Dark" (4:05)
9. "Mr.Pain" (3:15)
10. "No Thanks" (4:32)
Asphyxia play competent, crunchy, thrash metal and have a raw, throaty vocalist that fits well the aggressive music. In the early 1990's thrash bands were in abundance. Many fell through the cracks, and Asphyxia are one such band. The reason for this may be that they didn't really have a sound that distinguished them for the hordes of bands already well-known throughout the late 80's and early 1990's. That's not to say that this isn't a decent thrash metal album. On the contrary, thrash hounds like myself will thoroughly enjoy this mosh fest. "Exit: Reality" sports crunchy guitar riffs, quick licks and lots of mosh beats. For the most part, Asphyxia stick to up-tempo, mid-paced songs and rarely go into full throttle thrash mode. However, the songwriting here isn't overly memorable. I personally think this is what hurt Asphyxia. "Exit: Reality" was the only album Asphyxia recorded, aside from some demos. Perhaps if they had stuck it out a bit longer they would have began to refine their sound and made a bigger impact. Certainly a song like "One Big Family", which is the standout cut on the album, shows promise and potential. Regardless, since I am constantly on the search for more and more classic thrash, I find Asphyxia to be quite good. Perhaps they won't rival Vio-lence, Exodus, Kreator or Slayer for thrash metal supremacy, but they are still a good thrash band. "Exit: Reality" is out or print and quite rare. Sells for for between $20 - $35 or more on Ebay.