Video Premiere: XPUS (Italy) – Broken is the Seal of Equilibrium (Death Metal) Transcending Obscurity
I always look forward to covering albums from Transcending Obscurity Records, the quality of sound and presentation is consistently awesome across their roster and as of recently, the majority of their albums are Name Your Own Price. They generally have a lot of interesting and experimental black, doom and death metal, Xpus are no exception to this. Hailing from Italy the band puts out very 90’s inspired death metal that errs on the more chaotic side of death doom in tone, setting a harrowing crypt-driven aesthetic. This is an exclusive premiere of the track “Broken is the Seal of Equilibrium” off of the album In Umbra Mortis Sedent which is out May 8th via the below links.
Official Bandcamp / Transcending Obscurity Site
Xpus Facebook / Transcending Obscurity Facebook
This album continues the TO spirit with a great album cover done by Misanthropic Art who create a lot of high quality artwork within the metal scene. Doing album covers, posters, shirts and logos for bands like Pig Destroyer, Primordial, Hooded Menace and Hate Eternal just to name a few. This decisive stylistic choice makes In Umbra Mortis Sedent a great physical product for collectors and a competitive piece in the digital market. It’s also very telling of what one can expect, a solid old school death metal evocative of Dan Seagrave with an almost lofi production and sombre personality. It’s a memorable record in the ever spewing promo pool of new death metal albums.
“Xpus from Italy are invoking the ghosts of the dark and harrowing bands that surfaced in the ’90s such as Morbid Angel, Deicide, Incantation and Sinister, but obviously channeling it through their intensified, dense sound that makes it somewhat unique and frightening. There’s palpable dark energy in this band’s execution and none of it is blurred from chaos, rather it’s brilliantly enunciated and fleshed out for maximum impact.” – from the band bio
FFO: Verthebral, Incantation, Cruciamentum, Funebre, Fetid, Rebaelliun, Krisiun, Rottrevore, early Deicide, Centurian
For fans of Transcending Obscurity, this album fits right in with the darker more eccentric death metal and grindcore albums the label puts out. The album has so far been received positively critically with a fair few reviews already and it’s one most of the online savy metalheads are going to hear this year. The cinematic opening track sets the pace for a patient listen that will hammer at you in different ways, coming in at different angles each time. It’s a rewarding death metal experience that isn’t over produced or drowned out, achieving a nice middle ground that’s a straight march through your ear canal and into the most sensitive parts of your brain.
REVIEWS –
– “utter magnificence” – The Metal Wanderlust (US)
– “how to keep death metal morbid and gruesome” – Rebel X (UK)
– “fantastic” – Nattskog (UK) 8/10
– “excellent” – Wake the Dead Media (UK)
– “refined compositions” – Brutal Land (Poland)
Line up –
Mornak – Funeral guitars
Aren – Morbid voices/plaguer bass
Ulviros – AK-47 drums
Mastered at Resonance Sound Studio (Blood Incantation, Cruciamentum)
Artwork by Misanthropic Art (Trench Warfare)
Layout by Francesco Gemelli (Towards Atlantis Lights)
Track listing –
1. Abyssus Abyssum Invocat
2. Into the Sphere of Madness
3. Blood Rite of Liberation
4. The Gates of Doom
5. Of Purity, Chastity and Temptation
6. Broken is the Seal of Equilibrium
7. Clerical Rooms of Depravity
8. Righteous Hands of Molestation
9. Holy Sperm upon the Lambs
10. Repentance, Forgiveness and Salvation
