(written by Islander)
We heartily welcome the return of Connecticut-based Xenosis, who will have their fifth album Hermetic Transmutation released by Transcending Obscurity Records on June 5th.
We also enjoy imagining the looks on people’s faces when they get their brains scrambled by the music. Brain-scrambling will likely occur even among listeners who got their heads spun and bodies bruised by the band’s last album, Paralleled Existence, in 2021 — because Xenosis have somehow managed to level up the madness.
As proof of that, we offer you today an album track named “Sea of Teeth“.
“Sea of Teeth” is every bit as alien as the vision displayed on Hermetic Transmutation’s attention-seizing cover art, and even more head-spinning. On the one hand, it delivers brutishness with chunky, pile-driving throbs and harsh roars. On the other hand, the speedy guitars freakishly squiggle, squirm, and frenetically dart off at odd angles, while the drums discharge bursts of clattering mania.
The pacing changes without warning; the riffing blares and scrapes as well as squeals; the thudding low-end blows intrude at unexpected intervals, still bent on pounding listeners into the ground; guitar soloing flares in shrill convulsions; the snare drums convulse as well.
On a first listen, “Sea of Teeth” is the kind of thing that’s flat-out bewildering (as well as brutish). The technical skill of the instrumentalists is dazzling, but their maneuvers are bizarre. The music is steadfastly intricate and dissonant and the rhythms quite variable, And so as a listener you can’t really got locked into anything for very long.
And yet even on a bewildering first listen, the many strange motifs turn out to become many strange hooks. They change but they recur, and you may find them still cavorting in your skull even before you manage to play the song again.
XENOSIS is:
Sal Bova – Vocals
Gary Marotta – Drums
Kenny Bullard – Guitar
Keith Benway – Guitar
Travers Kenney – Bass
The album’s remarkable artwork was created by Graphic Nightmare. Transcending Obscurity will release it on CD and digital formats, along with apparel and other merchandise featuring the artwork. They rightly recommend it for fans of Death, Atheist, Gorguts, Obscura, Evilyn, and Mors Verum.
Order via the links below, and after the links you can also check out three previously released songs from the album — “Prolapsed Twin Entombment“, “Spore Whore“, and “Altar of the Hound“.
PRE-ORDER:
https://xenosis-label.bandcamp.com/album/hermetic-transmutation
https://us.tometal.com/
https://eu.tometal.com/
XENOSIS:
https://www.facebook.com/xenosisband
https://xenosis.bandcamp.com/