Album Review: Pyrexia – System of the Animal [25th Anniversary]
Reviewed by Daniel Phipps
Long Island New York, home of many bands in the New York underground and included within these ranks are death metal titans Pyrexia. A long established name within the community and one of the builders of the slam style of the genre they have released a number of monstrous releases with their last full length 'Gravitus Maximus' showcasing the band have not lost their touch from the 1993 classic debut 'Sermon of Mockery'. 2023 sees only original member Chris Basile along with the current bands line up revisit Pyrexia’s mid career work and re-record their 1997 album System of the Animal and give it a dose of 21st century treatment.
Now to quote Chris Basile “This time you can hear the riffs & feel the drums” and he is not wrong, this re-recording is absolutely monstrous, you hear that vintage old school brutal sound and you really feel those beatdown hardcore vibes that this record is full of which maybe the fan base was not quite ready for in the mid 90’s.
![Album Review: Pyrexia – System of the Animal [25th Anniversary]](https://i0.wp.com/live.staticflickr.com/65535/52947305914_e95e1da2cc_z.jpg?w=678&ssl=1 "Album Review: Pyrexia – System of the Animal [25th Anniversary]")
The guitars as with the last full length are a defining characteristic of the record as they just offer a level of severity that a lot of bands who are doing this style don’t quite hit, and that’s not a slate on these bands Pyrexia just have a better sound. What I really love is the vocals and frontman Jim Beach really gives these songs a massive kick with his intensity and vitriol. You can really hear another level on this vocal performance and it really adds character to the release and even with his style being as death metal sounding as it comes, it’s got an attitude to it that crosses over with the hardcore vibe extremely well.
If you want a quick sum up of this album, I’m going to buy it, hang some drywall then punch it repeatedly whilst chugging a famous energy drink brand with a M on it.
