Review | Andy Gillion – Exilium

Independent Release

Andy Gillion is a British composer/guitarist who joined the melodic death metal band Mors Principium Est somewhere in 2011 as lead guitarist and main composer. He was with that group for close to ten years, participating on a handful of albums until (to his own surprise) he was kicked out of the band by singer Ville Viljanen, the absolute ruler of the group. Gillion moved to Melbourne in 2017 while still being with Viljanen and Company. In 2019 he launched his first solo-CD ‘Neverafter’, followed by ‘Arcade Metal’ in 2022. Both albums were a combination of symphonic/progressive and melodic death metal and both records were concept-albums as well plus mainly instrumental.

NEW ERA

With ‘Exilium’ Andy Gillion enters a new era in his career. Again, he presents a concept-album in which he describes the quest of an exiled knight. The big difference is that Gillion for the first time has added his own vocals while also Brittney Slayes of the Canadian band Unleash The Archers sings along with Andy on ,,As The Kingdom Burns’’ (a highlight, I might add). ‘Exilium’ is a melodic death metal album. The fact that drummer Dave Haley of the Australian group Psycroptic plays along as well is a key factor indeed. This man is a monster behind the kit and he gives the album so much more speed and power. How is the vocal performance of Andy Gillion?

Although I am certainly not an authority on death metal, he does not disappoint. Most death metal vocalists are hard to understand but Gillion is not. You can follow his lead although to me for a whole album long he may not have the necessary variety in his voice just yet. I do not want to call his singing monotonous but a bit more variation in his vocal approach would have been helpful.

THE MUSIC

Andy Gillion’s music is certainly not for the faint hearted. Yes, this is melodic death metal but because of the guitar work and its musical built-up ‘Exilium’ has plenty of variation. Gillion is a brilliant guitarist who adds neo-classical riffs and leads to the music. It is certainly not an album that is all speed and power from start to finish. There are plenty of tempo changes and melodic structures to be heard. The singing is a bit monotonous but the music certainly is not. Gillion takes the listener on an interesting metal journey with tonnes of guitar acrobatics that have also symphonic and progressive twists.

ANDY GILLION – THE CONCLUSION

I do not know what it is, but ‘Exilium,’ has only eight songs and clocks under thirty-six minutes. It is an intense album but in these times a bit too short for the price you have to pay. Fact is though that in this genre ‘Exilium’ is certainly a cracker of an album, especially the instrumental parts of it. I am not too familiar with the genre though you can clearly conclude that sound and production leave nothing to be desired. It sounds really good. Andy Gillion has released this all by himself, so if you want to get a copy go to his website and follow the buying link. It is also available on outlets such as Spotify.

Release date: 11 October 2024