“Trauma take me away / Hold me close in your sweet embrace / Hand in hand we run towards the edge of oblivion / Headfirst down the abyss / I never thought it would end like this.”

When VEXED released their debut album Culling Culture in 2021 they firmly solidified themselves as one of the new acts in the scene whose next release would be among my most anticipated. I am happy to say the follow up, Negative Energy is everything I could ever have wanted from this band. To put it in the simplest of terms, Negative Energy is phenomenal. Chunky methodical guitar riffs lull you into a rhythmic trance while rapid-fire screaming, and bone-chilling screeching create a delightful contrast. The ease with which Megan Targett is able to pivot between a crisp clean melodic alto tone and an unfathomably fierce and gritty deep guttural will leave me picking my jaw up off the floor every time I hear it. This ability to quickly transition between sounds and styles is one of VEXED’s strongest characteristics and has allowed them to create one of the most engaging albums I have heard all year. Worth mentioning as well is the lone feature on this album. The inclusion of Alpha Wolf on the song “Lay Down Your Flowers” is one of the most inspired decisions I have ever seen. Lochie Keogh’s vocals pair so perfectly with VEXED that I can’t help but hope we see more collaboration between these two phenomenal bands in the future.