French quartet EXOCRINE have maintained a steady workload over the last seven years and have now added the album The Hybrid Suns to their catalogue of Technical Death metal. It's their fifth full-length release as they have consistently put out a new album every two years after forming in 2013. The Bordeaux natives released Unreal Existence in 2015 and have received a strong showing of praise for the last two albums Molten Giant (2018) and Maelstrom (2020). Five full albums in a run of seven years for a Progressive/Technical metal band is impressive in its own right! The album features some pretty cool cover art by Tania Sanchez Fortun, and is one of the nicest album covers I've seen this year.

The album blasts into effect with technical guitar work and rumbling double bass in "The Hybrid Suns". The drumming can't be overlooked on this track as Theo is a beast while the backing vocals and keys give the song a balance. More pulverizing drums and in-sync guitars open the next track "Dying Light". The song is layered with force as it is relentless with all instruments contributing. The female backing vocals bring an ease to the song before the anxiety inducing pace barrels on. The band likes to allow the songs to evolve into the beast they are before releasing the duelling guitars. But songs like "End of Time" and "Horns" don't beat around the bush much as they come across as direct Death metal tracks.

The guitars have worked together since the band was formed and they work well side by side as they are written to complement each other's work. "Watchtower" is a good example of this as the guitars turn this track into a frantic display of Technical Death metal. The rhythm section creates a volatile state as the guitars dissect the song riff by riff. The vocals are the finishing touch with a deep vibrating roar that makes this track the standout effort of the release for me. Spanish guitars open the track "Burning Sand" as the piece sounds great and really catches you off guard by what you have been hearing so far. The tune is a direct smash to the senses with a heavy bass line that trembles the song to an end. The album finishes off with "Shrine" and is a headbanger of a track that is defined by blast beats and on point guitars. The deep throat scream by Jordy is heard for the first time on the album and I think this track was written to create chaos in any pits where they play.

The release doesn't lose any brutality with any of the progressive or technical riffs as it is layered with classic Death metal throughout. The production work is there as it all sits together nicely and the comradery of having five albums under your belts can be heard. The backing vocals I find bring a lot to the tracks as well as a creative sense to the song writing that keeps the songs from bleeding into each other too much. But there are definitely more than enough death metal bangers on this release to keep the metalheads of all forms happy.