Xentrix Kin CD

Although they had very little competition to speak of amid Britain's overall piss-poor contributions to thrash metal, Xentrix always had little hope of challenging the genre's American titans in the eyes of fans -- most of whom viewed them as nothing more than a substandard Metallica copyists. And those negative perceptions were in no danger of being debunked by the arrival of their third album, Kin, in 1992, where tracks such as "A Friend to You," "All Bleed Red," and the "Unforgiven"-like "Release" saw Xentrix -- and particularly vocalist James Hetfield, er, Chris Astley -- sounding like a veritable Metallica tribute band! At least Astley's voice is both muscular and convincingly powerful on these blatant ripoffs, because elsewhere (see the power ballad "No More Time") his cleaner tones simply lack personality and sometimes tunefulness -- yeesh! Granted, a few of Kin's mid-paced thrashers (high-speed numbers having mostly been retired in The Black Album's aftermath) boasted the rare good lick or memorable chorus (first single "The Order of Chaos," for instance, and, to a lesser degree, the not totally forgettable "Waiting"); but the vast majority of the songs on hand were needlessly overwrought, painfully hook-less, and in the case of arguable low point "See Through You," unbearably slow. Sure enough, the clock was ticking on Xentrix's already generous 15 minutes, and when heretofore faithful label Roadrunner gave up on them after the following year's The Order of Chaos EP, the bandmembers limped along (sans Astley) for just one more album (1996's typically average Scourge) before going their separate ways. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia

After releasing their debut LP Shattered Existence (1989) and the follow-up For Whose Advantage (1990), Xentrix gained a well deserved status of British thrash heroes. The popularity of the band was followed by some intensive touring, next to groups such as Skyclad and Sepultura. Then it all came tumbling down, as the U.K. thrash scene became more and more neglected by the fans and nearly collapsed in 1993. But Xentrix refused to simply step down and surrender their career. Instead they made their most successful effort yet by releasing their third and most intensive album, Kin. limited edition of 2000 hand numbered copies.