Excel – Seeking Refuge (Reissue)
Excel originated in Venice, California in 1985. They are considered a crossover band, a hybrid of hardcore and heavy metal, like DRI and Cryptic Slaughter. I have been a fan of Excel since I was about fourteen years old when they released Split Image in 1987. I really liked their second record 1989’s The Joke’s On You. At that time, I was really into the early thrash and heavy metal movement, and some hardcore music too. Excel fit in perfectly with all those bands, from Slayer to Agnostic Front. As I grew older, my musical interests expanded and in the nineties grunge music took over the world. Excel originally released Seeking Refuge in 1995. I probably didn’t listen to the record until the late nineties/early 2000s, when I actually found out about it. I was into bands like Kyuss, Fu Manchu, and Nebula around that time period. Excel’s lineup on the Seeking Refuge record was: Dan Clements on vocals, Brandon Rudley on guitar, Shaun Ross on bass, and Max Mazursky on drums.
Southern Lord Records decided to reissue Seeking Refuge in July 2024. I personally love this record. Excel started as a stripped down Suicidal Tendencies sounding band with their debut Split Image, and were ironically on STs own record label back then. The second album, The Jokes On You showed a humongous progression for Excel in terms of musicianship and songwriting skills. When Seeking Refuge came out, only two out of the four original members were present, vocalist Dan and bassist Shaun. The album contains nine songs and is around 39 minutes long.
The music on Seeking Refuge definitely shifted into a more heavy rock format with mostly midrange rhythms and some slower parts. They abandoned the fast stuff and opted for a more overall heavy grove and a rock approach to their songs. Vocalist Dan Clements really sings on this and it sounds damn good! Opening track “Unenslaved” was the only single on the record but it smokes, nonetheless. The guitar riffs are crunchy, the drums rocking, and the bass sound is more prominent in the mix and much more pronounced overall on this album. Dan’s vocals fit the music nicely and the band explore more dynamics with these songs. They have a cool acoustic guitar part in the middle of “Unenslaved” when the song downshifts and Clement’s singing has an Ozzy vibe to it. “Hair Like Christ” has a Helmet metal crunch to it and some backing vocals to boot. “Plastic Cracks” starts with the bass and has a bad ass grove to the song. The swirling guitars and catchy singing chorus are where it’s at with this one. “Take Your Part Gotta Encourage” features H.R. from the Badbrains on vocals and “Drowned Out” begins with the bass and both songs are mid tempo rockers.
The lyrical message on Seeking Refuge is rooted in positivity and unity, as certain songs illustrate like “United Naturally In True Youth”, which is another catchy song that deals with overcoming struggles and adversity. “Riptide” fades in with wah sounding guitars and a heavy groove when the music kicks in. Clement’s vocals flow with the music nicely and things pick up at the end and the band display some progressive flourishes. “Overview” starts with the bass and is another head nodder of a song. It has a Rage Against the Machine feel to it and features some cool guitar leads as well. The final track on Seeking Refuge is called “Downpressor.” It’s a good closer with a nice driving rhythm and good heavy drumming. The guitar leads are nice on this song too, not to mention the bass and vocal delivery.
I think it’s great how Excel changed their sound with this record. To me, it still sounds like them. None of their three records sound the same. You could start to hear the progression to the more rock style with the 8 track demo extras from The Joke’s On You expanded record. I’m guessing bassist Shaun Ross was a huge contributor to the songwriter on this record. The bass guitar starts many of the songs and is an integral component to how good this album is. I also must applaud Dan Clements on his vocals. The maturity in his voice from the spoken/shouty style singing from the previous records leading up to this one are remarkable.
Similar to Corrosion Of Conformity, Excel started as a crossover band that emerged into a respectable heavy rock band. From Black Flag to Black Sabbath, Excel expanded their sound significantly on Seeking Refuge and it just might be my favorite album from them. The rumor is that they are writing a new record slated for 2025 release date. I am very curious to hear where this band will go musically next and I can’t wait to find out either.
