Location: Seattle, Washington
Country: USA
Genre: Progressive black/death/power metal
Full length: Exogalactic
Format: Digital, CD
Label: Dawnbreed Records
Release date: November 3, 2023
In the wee hours of the morning my good friend Seagull (aka Bum Bum the Clown) sent me some tunes! I listened to part of the first track presented, but as I was on my way to bed I told him that I would listen to it in full when I wasn’t getting ready for snoozeville. The album he sent me was “Exogalactic” by Xoth! As I sit typing this I am doing exactly as I said I would do, and (obviously) I figured I would give it a review to boot! Here goes…
After listening to the first few tracks, the first thing I noticed is that it is really hard to pin point what genre to define this as. While searching the YouTube bio for clues as to what strain of metal these guys consider themselves, I noticed it stated right within the bio that Xoth “eludes catergorization”—and honestly I’ve never heard a deeper truth told. Mixing death, black and thrash along with atmospheric, symphonic and experimental elements it is plain to see (and hear) that Xoth are in a league all of their own!
The musicianship is quite fantastic to say the very least. The guitars are both chugging and intricate, with heavy rhythms and vibrant solo work. The vocals are harsh, unique and sporadically diverse, not to mention that the percussion is “more than just” tight and elegantly (yet forcefully) forward driving and pin-perfect. Everything else is pretty damn good too, and when everything is mixed together it makes for a listen that absolutely drips with talent and obvious effort!
It states in the bio that Xoth have existed since 2014. I did indeed hear of them, but I never really listened to them, or at least my memory did not retain that data. I’m sure I would remember it though, as this is something worth storing within my sometimes overloaded memory bank!
Taken from YouTube: “In partnership with Dawnbreed Records, their third triumph "Exogalactic" is an ambitious leap forward. It’s as if they've excavated musical relics from Earth's core and melded them with sounds from the far reaches of the universe. Each song is an event horizon, stirring subgenres into a timewarp of past and future sonic chaos.”
I think the bio sums it up well, so lastly, I will trim my word vomit and utter one simple suggestion:
“Check out this amazing friggin’ album!” -Devin J. Meaney
Lineup:
Tyler Sturgill: Guitar, vocals
Woody Adler: Guitar
Ben Bennett: Bass
Jeremy Salvo: Drums
Track list:
1. Reptilian Bloodsport
2. Manuscripts of Madness
3. Sporecraft Zero
4. The Parasitic Orchestra
5. Saga of the Blade
6. Reflective Nemesis
7. Battlesphere
8. Map to the Stars, Monument to the Ancients
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