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The Italian Nu metal band Exilia came to life by an accidental meeting of front woman Masha and guitarist Elio at a records store back in 1998. In 2000 they released their debut Rightside Up. The follow-up Unleashed saw the light of the day in 2004. No. 3 was Nobody Excluded in 2006 and now it's time for their fourth strike - My Own Army. But between the album releases the Italians toured a lot.
With spoken words they start into the opener Phoenix, a Nu metal track with a catchy guitar line and harsh powerful vocals of Masha. But then they speed up for a bit which makes them sound more aggressive, just to get into a melodic chorus. Sure, Exilia sound somehow similar to Guano Apes, but due to Masha's raspy voice and Elio's differing guitar play they have created their own sound. Next in line is Are You Breathing which another up-tempo tune, but Masha sounds here different... Partly a bit desperate, partly almost hurt... After a few spins this track will haunt you for days! With a heavy groove they head into the crossover track The Hunter, but there are slow passages which are dominated by Masha's voice - and then they explode into an aggressive part. A musical roller coaster ride. With I'm Perfect they hit the same road... The beginning of Across The Sky is slow and they return the slow passage after a powerful, slightly melancholy part. The song sticks out a bit, coz it's more emotional and shows them a bit different. The more rocking tracks, the more emotional parts add some variety - like Emptiness Of You. Somehow I think that it would be even stronger, if they would have added some symphonic sounds here... Piano leads into Far From The Dark and shows their soft side - and that Masha can't just shout, she can sing, too. Then the song becomes a symphonic rocker with a heavy groove, but returns to the opening theme to fade out. Here they perfectly combine melodies and heavy grooves. Personally I would welcome more tunes like this one! But I guess that real Nu metal heads won't agree... A quite typical track is Deleted - even the vocals are more melodic. With No Destination they offer another track which can't stick out and I think it's partly the guitar play which is too repetitive and makes the songs sounding to similar... Then a real surprise, the Milanese cover Phil Collins' smash hit In The Air Tonight! They try to present this classic in a Nu metal style... But somehow it isn't working, at least for me... The original is carried by the drumming and here it's the guitar riffing. And the drumming was what made the track special... Nice try, but I stick to the original! Towards the end they present the title track My Own Army, a song which reminds me slightly of Evanescence... A slow, balladesque tune, even if in the second half they add some heaviness and fat riffs.
Well, the songs are good, but partly too similar... Especially the guitar riffing is too repetitive, but also the song structure isn't varying enough. I think that they have a good basis, but have to add some variety. Perhaps it would be a good idea to add a second guitarist to have more space for melodies to support the vocals without loosing heaviness... I will keep an eye on the Italian foursome, coz live they really rock.
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