Vexillary - Full Frontal Lunacy

All around electronic producer Vexillary has officially released his debut album “Full Frontal Lunacy”. The former chemist views music as he did the bonds of chemical ingredients; he wants to create well-balanced creations. Thus, he mixes a bold array of music together whether that be industrial, techno, EBM, darkwave, electronica, and so on and so forth. He has released a bunch of singles and EPs to date, including ‘Scent of Torture’ featuring Warteraum which we took an in-depth look at. This being our first proper look at a full-length album from Vexillary is both exciting and biting. Vexillary shows a great knowledge of electronic music, able to fuse various genres into good songs. However, there are a few issues within “Full Frontal Lunacy” that keep it from reaching greatness. 

The album begins off with the single ‘Scent of Torture’ featuring Warteraum. Since I already reviewed this single, I’m not going to do it again. I’ll just redirect you to my original thoughts HERE. I am then thrust into ‘Burnt Leather (Scorched Mix)’. This is a dirty techno song with decent bass work. The whispered, ominous vocals that decorate the background fit the song, though I do feel as if some of the synths lines could have been a bit more dreary to fit the depressing atmosphere. The title track, ‘Full Frontal Lunacy’, heads straight into EBM territory with a wicked bassline that ramps up tension. I felt as if there was never a crescendo for the song; it always felt as if it was attempting to build up to something grand but never quite got there. 

‘Sanity Fades’ has a huge dark techno club vibe. The beat of the song is powerful and demanding and reminds me of a dark cyber club. I was not a huge fan of the lyrical delivery in the song, though; they don’t come in often but when they do they feel unneeded. The instrumental work is phenomenal and the repetitive vocals are rather distracting. Scratchy textures and hits of bass all around do wonders for ‘The Descent’. Those electronic samples give the song grit and industrial flavors. However, I did feel as if it sounded like the song was skipping a few times. Take a look around the one-minute and forty-second mark; I feel like I’m back in high school with a CD player, a scratch on the disc causing unwanted disruptions. Guest vocalist La Strange appears on the song and she does wonders; however, I feel as if rougher vocals were needed to match the energy of the song. 

‘Maniac’ comes in next and it is a bit underwhelming or average. It’s a very standard song for beat driven electronic music and while I don’t have any major complaints about it, I can’t praise it either. It’s kind of smack-dab in the middle. ‘Absinthe Mind’ has some of the most intricate electronic work found on “Full Frontal Lunacy”. It doesn’t baste in heavy bass or club beats, but plays with a collage of sounds and fits them together nicely. Again, I wasn’t a huge fan of the sparse lyrical delivery and the effects applied therein, but the beat is well made. The final song, ‘Exit the Void’, is the most chill track on the album. A steady techno bassline is filled to the brim with sci-fi reflections and ambient synth lines. 

I am unsure if “Full Frontal Lunacy” was mixed or mastered by a professional, but if it wasn’t I feel as if it needs it. While the mix is not bad, I have heard other albums in similar genres pop a lot more and have a better balance in their sound. “Full Frontal Lunacy” does not sound bad, per se, but it could sound a lot better with a proper sound engineer. 

Vexillary’s “Full Frontal Lunacy” is a good look at what’s coming from the artist. His ability to formulate so many genres into one album is impressive. The downside to it, however, is that most of the songs come with a complaint or two at least. This does not make the album unlistenable, but it does scratch an otherwise polished surface. I do come off “Full Frontal Lunacy” with a lot of praise, and I will say that Vexillary is on the cusp of greatness. A little bit more work and fine-tuning will for sure allow him to reach his true potential. Six-and-a-half out of ten!