Premiere: Xael – “Chained to the Demon of Erring”
Shit’s about to get really weird. Brace yourselves for Xael.
Xael’s presentation is twofold: the first and most important aspect is, as one would expect, the music. Their sound is quite eclectic, rooted heavily in progressive death metal and symphonic metal with a heavy science-fantasy bent. Low, heavy riffing is supplemented and often led by synths and strings, mingling with ubiquitous and enigmatic lead guitar. The vocals are quite varied, ranging from both clean and dirty singing to monstrous growls, and they bring a lot of texture to the music. Its twists and turns are frequent and unpredictable, but they feel natural; the band leads you down a winding path rather than trying to lose you in a maze.
The second aspect is the video, and this is a bit tougher to explain. The Last Arbiter is a concept album that follows the eternal journey of an immortal wanderer chained to an ancient demon, and the band has put together a series of music videos that tie into the story. Today, we’re bringing you “Chained to the Demon of Erring,” and I’ll let the band elaborate form here:
“Srai is poetically seen as a demon but is a captured ancient entity that has a dismal past with the protagonist, being that there is lore that predates this albums story line. In an attempt to kill the main character, it was captured and bound by technology using a quantum field. It hungers to kill the wayfarer, but being immortal makes that difficult as one can presume. But there is a problem with the wayfarer’s immortality as he suffers from an odd illness poetically called “soul sickness” where he loses consciousness and it is during this episode that his immortality is suppressed. Srai seizes this moment to sit upon the wayfarer’s chest to steal his last breath. In this song you can see the relationship with “sleep paralysis” and how it ties into the lore.”
The Last Arbiter comes out this Friday, May 18th, via Test Your Metal Records, digitally available at Bandcamp. Be sure to give Xael a holler on Facebook as well; they’re doing something different and ambitious, and props are in order.
