AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): XUL — “WHAT LIES HIDDEN”

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Oct 152018
 

 

In writing about this British Columbia band’s two previous releases, their 2012 album Malignance and their 2015 EP Extinction Necromance, I tended to lose control of my metaphors, because their blackened melodic death metal had a tendency to make me lose control of my mind, at least temporarily. Their sound was so explosive, so jet-fueled, so technically impressive, and so rampantly ferocious, that any kind of calm and clinical analysis was beyond my capabilities. The music did display intensifying twists and turns and alluring melodic nuances, but the enduring memory is of the pure blood-rushing energy of the attack.

At last, Xul will be releasing a second album. Entitled What Lies Hidden…, it’s now scheduled for release on October 19th, and it’s our pleasure to present a full stream of this electrifying album today. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: XUL — “BLACK OAK HEART”

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Sep 242018
 

 

In writing about this British Columbia band’s two previous releases, their 2012 album Malignance and their 2015 EP Extinction Necromance, I tended to lose control of my metaphors, because their blackened melodic death metal had a tendency to make me lose control of my mind, at least temporarily. Their sound was so explosive, so jet-fueled, so technically impressive, and so rampantly ferocious, that any kind of calm and clinical analysis was beyond my capabilities. The music did display intensifying twists and turns and alluring melodic nuances, but the enduring memory is of the pure blood-rushing energy of the attack.

At last, Xul will be releasing a second album. Entitled What Lies Hidden…, it’s now scheduled for release on October 19th, and it’s our pleasure to present the album’s second advance track, “Black Oak Heart“. Take some deep breaths before you listen — these guys haven’t calmed down in the intervening years since their last release. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE: XUL — “MALIGNANCE”

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Oct 272015
 

XUL-Malignance

 

In preparing to write a few words about our premiere of this hair-raising album from XUL, I went back and read what I wrote about a XUL song we premiered earlier this year from their lethal 2015 EP Extinction Necromance, and I couldn’t help but laugh. I think my mind was so exploded by the music that I forgot where I put it. I’m warning you now that the same thing may have happened when I started writing this post after listening to XUL’s Malignance.

That’s the name of this British Columbia band’s 2012 debut album, which was originally self-released and is now getting a gilded reissue by Redefining Darkness Records, with remastering executed by Ken Sorceron (Abigail Williams), eye-catching new artwork by Remy Cuveillier (Headsplit Design), and a previously unreleased bonus track. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: XUL — “ORBIT OF NEMESIS”

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Apr 082015
 

 

Are you sitting down? Okay, good, because if you weren’t, I would tell you to sit down, because what you’re about to hear will knock you over. Also, I’d recommend putting on some flame-retardent outer wear. Hell, if you’ve got asbestos-lined underwear and a Kevlar loincloth, those would be good ideas, too.

(WARNING: MIXED METAPHORS AHEAD)

This song, “Orbit of Nemesis” from a British Columbia band named Xul, is like a Formula One death metal machine whipping around one hair-pin turn after another, with you tied to the spoiler by a barbed-wire leash and with flames coming out the exhaust, close enough to burn off your eyebrows and incinerate your nose hairs. Continue reading »