There are bands that return after a lengthy absence with something to prove, and there are bands that return because the alternative is apparently sitting quietly in the garden waiting for death. French veterans Exhauster belong firmly in the former category. With Wolfen, the they have dragged decades of pent-up aggression out of the vault, given it a much-needed sonic overhaul and unleashed the results with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer through a stained-glass window.
This is not some glossy exercise in nostalgia, nor is it an attempt to reinvent thrash metal for an audience whose idea of rebellion is turning off their phone notifications. Exhauster understand the fundamentals: riffs that bite, drums that batter, solos that actually go somewhere and vocals that sound as though they have a personal grievance against humanity. The result is a record with genuine old-school character, refreshed by a band that has clearly not returned merely to collect its pension.
Exhauster’s history stretches back to 1989, when the band formed in Sartrouville, in the Paris suburbs. Their early years produced a succession of demos, including Enjoyment of Death and No Way Back, before the inevitable indignities of time, circumstance and the general knack life has for ruining a perfectly good metal band brought the original incarnation to an end in 1996.
Then came the long silence. In 2022, Exhauster re-emerged with a new line-up, bringing their old material back into circulation and returning to the stage. The Even After Death demo followed in 2023, setting the wheels in motion for what has now become Wolfen.
And here is the important detail: this debut is not eleven freshly written compositions conjured from the ether. The album brings together material from the band’s earlier demos, re-recorded both musically and vocally. Think of it less as a museum exhibit and more as a weapons refurbishment programme. The original ammunition was perfectly serviceable; it simply needed dragging into the modern era and cleaning the accumulated dust off the barrel.
The change in vocalist is particularly significant. Charles Huitric replaces original singer Pierre Suire, whose earlier death-metal-leaning delivery helped define the old recordings. Huitric brings a more thrash-and-hardcore-oriented attack, with harsher passages and growled accents when the material demands them. The resulting vocal approach gives these resurrected songs a different personality without sanding away their rough edges.
Production has also received a substantial upgrade. The material now has the clarity and punch required to let the guitars, rhythm section and lead work do their damage properly. Crucially, the improved sound does not turn Exhauster into another sterile, over-polished metal product. There is still plenty of grit beneath the fresh coat of paint.
“See You in Hell” is the sort of calling card every thrash band should aspire to deliver: direct, aggressive and built around the kind of riffing that makes sitting still feel like an act of cowardice. It captures the band’s identity in a nutshell, combining old-school ferocity with a sharpened contemporary edge.
“Wolfen” is the natural centrepiece, its title carrying the promise of something predatory and its place in the band’s revived catalogue lending it additional significance. First appearing on the Even After Death demo, the song now benefits from the album’s fuller presentation. It embodies the appeal of Exhauster’s approach: compact aggression, muscular riffing and an emphasis on impact over needless technical exhibitionism.
Elsewhere “Even After Death” practically functions as the band’s mission statement. Given Exhauster’s history, the title is hardly short on irony. Yet the song’s renewed life is more than a sentimental gesture towards the past. Likewise “Instinct of Violence” deserves attention for the sheer promise contained in the band’s early repertoire. Its very title tells you what sort of territory we’re entering, and its origins in the group’s 1992 demo era underline the longevity of Exhauster’s fascination with aggression.
And then there is “Heaven After Death”, which provides one of the more intriguing shifts in the album’s overall attack. Its icy, black-metal-flavoured passage broadens the palette without derailing the record’s thrash foundations. It’s a welcome reminder that even a band with its boots planted firmly in the old school can find room for a little darkness beyond the standard barrage of palm-muted riffs and percussion-driven punishment.
Overall, the beauty of Wolfen lies in its movement between speed and weight. Exhauster understand that a record played at maximum velocity from beginning to end can become as monotonous as a politician repeating the same lie. The heavier mid-tempo passages give the faster material room to hit harder, while the guitar solos provide flashes of melodic and technical flair without descending into the sort of fretboard masturbation that has ruined perfectly good metal records for decades.
There is something particularly satisfying about a band formed in 1989 returning with its original spirit intact while allowing a new vocalist and a revamped production approach to reshape the material. It is a reminder that underground metal history is not always written by the bands that become internationally famous. Sometimes it is preserved by those who refuse to let their music disappear quietly into the bargain bins of history.
Exhauster have returned with something worth celebrating: a solid, energetic collection that honours their origins without sounding embalmed in them. The next challenge is obvious. Having dusted off the old arsenal and demonstrated that it still fires, the band now needs to show what the reunited line-up can produce when it turns its attention fully towards new material.
Until then, Wolfen makes a convincing case for keeping Exhauster on the radar. The French underground has another old warhorse back in the trenches, and it has clearly not come here to make friends.
Donnie’s Rating: 8.5/10
