Review by Greg on May 23, 2025.

Quite an intriguing name for this power trio from Southern Italy, isn't it? Xenos A.D., curiously born from the ashes of power-oriented outfit Eversin, hail from Sicily and are instead devoted to more or less straightforward thrash. Reqviem For The Oppressor, kvlt title choice notwithstanding, marks their third full-length effort.

So yeah, I hear you, I'm talking about thrash again?! But there's something different. Unlike your run-of-the-mill retro thrash bands always aiming to finally come up with that song Exodus or Kreator didn't manage to write back in the '80s, Xenos A.D. take the decidedly less traveled route of the late '80s/early '90s, let's say, 'controlled' thrash – not the primordial prog/tech pioneers, and certainly not those sailing towards more extreme territories. Indeed, from the first seconds of opener 'Dogma Of War', and especially during its guitarless verses, my mind was already ripe with unpleasant flashbacks of those bands I always found too... slow. Xentrix, Sacred Reich, you know the score. What can I say... me like fast *beats chest and grabs a liana* Adding to that, I've also been recently lukewarm at best with modern records trying to resurrect that style, like Game Over's "Hellframes" or Eradicator's "The Paradox". And yet, in less time than my over-caffeinated brain could ponder all these scenarios, the song had already moved on, picked up speed, delivered a memorable refrain, and gone through a handful of different scenarios. Not bad at all, cutting to the chase, and with several interesting facets.

The vocals... well, aren't one of them. Ignazio Nicastro is sometimes joined by background growls, but he mainly adopts a simple, unimpressive shouting style. On the upside, and call me crazy if you will, in his best moments (check out 'Welcome The Destroyer') he gives the impression of a long-lost distant Italian cousin of Grip Inc.'s Gus Chambers (R.I.P.). Naturally, we're talking about one of my all-around favourite vocalists ever, and he surely could do way more than just shout, but the similarity isn't to be overlooked either. Also notable is the band's only guitarist, Giuseppe Taormina, currently in Crystal Viper, among others, which means solos won't be squealy cascades of nonsense – quite the opposite.

Luckily, the modus operandi of 'Dogma Of War' repeats throughout more or less the whole tracklist, to the point that every cut had something to offer, even when things were starting to look grim (the bridge in 'Crown Of Separation' works wonders). Adding to the list of highlights is the central one-two punch of the aforementioned 'Welcome The Destroyer' and the plausible best track 'Children Of The Atomic Sun', another two masterclasses in blending tempos. The latter's unintentionally amusing vocal delivery ('AHHH! We are the children of the atomic sun', etc.) hampers a bit what was a truly huge refrain, but many bands should take notes on how to make a 5-and-a-half-minute track this effective. In light of this, it's especially disappointing to hear the tiresome, plodding title-track rounding off the whole thing (along with the shreddy instrumental 'Dance Of The Gods') with approximately zero of the things that made the rest of Reqviem For The Oppressor a compelling listen, and Gustavo Camere failing to prevent me from zoning out. Such a shame.

Nevertheless, despite its shortcomings, Xenos A.D.'s latest is a solid effort, and it also made me change my mind about a sound I thought was doomed to fail from the beginning. It isn't faint praise, at all. It's not gonna shake all my certainties about thrash metal, but at least the next album starting out slow won't make me insta-roll my eyes, hopefully. Give it a listen, but not a cursory one, for sure.

Rating: 7.4 out of 10