Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals - Walk Through Exits Only

Phil Anselmo is a heavy dude. So, after recovering from back surgery and getting a little soft in the middle, he picks himself up, brushes himself off and gets his extreme scream on.

This record is not the power metal of Pantera, nor the groovier side of Down. This is more the extreme thrash of Superjoint Ritual. And for many, that's as far as you'll have to read. They'll already know that the record will be hard to listen to. No choruses, no melodies, no mosh-circle breakdowns.

All true, but there's still some quality of course. The opening track is the most ambitious. Running through with a frenetic march beat, "Music Media Is My Whore" stays true to its lyric

"The rise of authentic anti-music
Unearthly timbers and ominous sonorities
Relentless, iterated non-melody
A shuddering original unlike anything that has come before"

From there, the band stays more traiditional to the thrash style, while Phil keeps screaming about overcoming those who try to fuck him. The title track is probably the best example to sum up the whole album. But with as many different sounds as Phil gets with different projects, I would be interested in seeing an album collection with more of those sounds. (3 of 5 stars)