Last Tuesday (yes, an album release on a Tuesday – who would’ve thought?!), Excision dropped the filthy drop after drop, eargasm having album, “Virus”. With collaborations from a variety of artists, this album is easily top 3 of my favorites because it showcases so many different sounds and genres of dub, all within one album. There is the heavy tracks that the headbangers love and a few surprise mellow tracks that are the cherry on top. After the release of his 2016 Shambhala Mix, it’s safe to say fans were pumped for the release of this album and Excision most certainly did not disappoint.
The album starts off with the album-titled track “Virus”, bringing the dark vibes that Excision always brings to the table; along with the way he has begun other albums and his Shambhala mixes. This song is perfect to start off the album and sets the mood for what we are about to listen to. Once everything drops, the rest is history. We have entered the world of Excision and have contracted the “virus”. Headbangers rejoice with the next track: “Neck Brace” (featuring Messinian). Continuing the darkness with a deep, spooky voice over at the beginning of the song, the hard-style dub takes over. If I were to ever hear this song live, I would definitely be “leaving in a neck brace”. “Throwin’ Elbows” (featuring Space Laces) continues the heavy-ness and starts with some metal sounding bass guitar riffs. The beat drop is absolute fire, and is the one song that makes you want to start a mosh pit for no reason. In my opinion, this track has the filthiest drop on the entire album because of how unexpected the sound is.
Showing us that he doesn’t have to be hard all the time and can master softer sounding music, “Drowning” takes a hold. With vocals from Akylla that shake your core, this track will definitely put you in your feels. This is my favorite song on the entire album because it has a good mixture of everything: the lyrics, the vocals, the beat, the drop, everything is produced so eloquently. Melodic dubstep isn’t something that you would expect Excision to do, but it is awesome to see him put it out on his album and execute it perfectly. “Her” (featuring Dion Timmer) is another mellow track on the album. On the same level as “Drowning”, the catchy vocals and melodic drop create the perfect combination.
Whenever Dion Timmer and Excision get together, you are almost guaranteed to be listening to a great song; and most of the time (besides “Her), a banger. “Africa” doesn’t disappoint with this expectation – with quality mixing and a whistling bassline. Many fans are upset this release is not the VIP version, but that just gives us something to look forward to as a release in the future. With heavy bass and a Protohype collab, you might want to ask yourself if you are ready for the next track. “Are You Ready” is the perfect mix between the fast-paced wobbles by Protohype and the heavy dub by Excision. This collab is impeccable and showcases the talents of both producers.
For headbanging dubstep, press 3… “Generator” seriously gave me goosebumps with the intro of this song, before the drop ever even occured. The grime in this track is absolutely ridiculous and the sound design is phenomenal. The guttural vibrations bring something different to the table than the other songs on the album. To end “Virus”, Excision has been teasing the song “Harambe” for a while now and he finally releases it, closing out. This song includes some of the kings of dub: Excision, Datsik, and Dion Timmer. With this collab, the riddim is super clean and the drops are fire. Overall, everything is produced perfectly.
I have listened to this album from start to finish multiple times and I fall in love with it more and more each time. Every song brings something different to the table, and I’m super pumped to be able to hear these songs live once Excision releases his 2017 tour dates (which should *hopefully* be released soon!). Give the album a listen below.