EXCEL has a long lost album that is coming to the masses on July 19. Originally released in 1995 and out of print since shortly after that, the band's Seeking Refuge is about to return courtesy of Southern Lord.
“We didn’t get a great response,” bassist Shaun Ross says of its initial release. “Between ’90 and ’95, the market for thrash and even punk kinda died with grunge becoming so popular. And we didn’t use our original logo, which in retrospect was a big deal because it didn’t look like an EXCEL record. We fixed that for the reissue.”
The reissue first came out for Record Store Day 2024, prior to a full reissue this month.
The band, playing Pitfest in the Netherlands today, retooled in 2023 with Greg Cerwonka (Take Offense) and Damon DeLaPaz (Fenix TX) joining. The band hopes to record a new album this year, ready for release in '25.
H.R. (Bad Brains) makes a guest appearance on Seeking Refuge's "Take Your Part Gotta Encourage" and pro skater Tony Alva appears in the new video for "Unenslaved."
Seeking Refuse track list:
- Unenslaved
- Hair Like Christ
- Plastic Cracks
- Take Your Part Gotta Encourage
- Drowned Out
- United Naturally in True Youth
- Riptide
- Overview
- Downpressor
EXCEL LIVE DATES:
September 20th C.Y. Fest (L.A.)
