ALBUM REVIEW: Culling Culture – Vexed

In recent years, the UK metal scene has become an ever-growing rabbit hole of some of the best breakthrough acts we’ve seen in a long time. The creativity that some bands are presenting is breaking down the walls that keep the genre in its box and are creating an exciting future. For Hertfordshire-based VEXED, their refusal to be pigeonholed has set their debut album, Culling Culture, as one of the most anticipated of the year.

The album title is taken from the social media phenomena ‘cancel culture’, except the band are using it in a more personal manner. One in which promotes a healthy ‘cancelling’ for your own benefit, to cull the toxicity of those in your own personal life, those who don’t offer any positivity. What’s the best way to do that? With absolute brutality.

Although Ignorant opens up the album with a slight moment of ambience, it’s done so in a way that creates unease, serving almost as a build-up of inner tension before the storm takes hold. As Hideous follows suit, there is no second spared before vocalist Megan Targett spits venom, holding firmly onto the emotion of every lyric, even throughout vocal technique transitions, something which not many can follow through with.

One thing that VEXED as a whole maintain well is the ability to still deliver raw intensity through dynamic shifts, most notably displayed through tracks such as Fake, Aurora and Purity. Whilst they don’t stray too far away with shifts, there’s different qualities in each of the aforementioned that just highlight a little more as to how well the band can handle progression. From Targett‘s standout vocal performance on Aurora, to the way Jay Bacon [guitars], Al Harper [bass] and Willem Mason-Geraghty [drums] work together in building vicious grooves at a slower pace in Fake, the hard efforts of VEXED cannot be overlooked.

The way final track Lazarus closes the album is possibly the best way to conclude the journey that VEXED have taken us on. There’s a well-balanced blend of everything we’ve heard throughout the album, from ambience to slick riffs, but the most noticeable thing to take away is how this band know how to close an album in relation to its concept. Despite moments of ferocity, the last 20 seconds almost float out, leaving a sense of inner peace and the way that’s done is clever, because ultimately, it’s the feeling your left with when you finally remove toxicity from your life.

What VEXED have achieved on their debut album is something extraordinary, displaying a quality that you would expect from more established bands. There’s not only the high standard of sound, but also the ability to tap into a concept that is relevant to every person and make it feel as though this is your own journey. Culling Culture explores the ugliness and the beauty of removing negative behaviours from your life in a way nobody else has done before. This is as raw, honest and as intense as it gets, proving that VEXED aren’t here to mess around.

Rating: 9/10

Culling Culture is set for release May 21st via Napalm Records.

Like VEXED on Facebook.