Perth band Xenobiotic have delivered a most crushing sophomore release, titled Mordrake, to the world. Xenobiotic released three videos that coincide with the release to add visuals to the overall story, and holy hell, you need to watch those. In short it's all about a life breaking down around a chaotic relationship between a man and woman, and the man's journey to find some semblance of an answer as to why. The album is adorned with the breath taking artwork of Mariusz Lewandowski who has also graced the albums of Bell Witch's Mirror Reaper and Psycroptic's As The Kingdom Drowns.
Track two, the single The Light that Burns The Sky, was the first time I'd ever heard one of their songs, and they had me hooked. I don't think I could be more hooked, as in if a fish hook somehow found it's way lodged inside my face cave even that wouldn't be as hooked as I am on Xenobiotic. The whole sound of Mordrake seems to me to be a blend of progressive death, prog and deathcore. A plethora of inspiration can be heard, but the boys in Xenobiotic have found their own sound.
TJ Sinclair leads the way on vocals and weaves the tale of a fouled relationship with an ungodly and often times violent sound. Nish Raghavan and Cam Moore weave in and out, hailing down riffs in a symphony of pain. David Finlay weighs in with thunderclaps of bass throughout, and Mikey Godwin binds the whole together with labyrinths of percusiveness that whips you right in the jaw. Check out the first video for "Light That Burns The Sky."
Superior at the craft of structuring out an album, with noticeable fluctuations of emotion and bursts of skeletal chilling lyrical passages of desperation, Mordrake is a powerful contender for a top album of the year here at WMR. As always, if you dig what you hear, check out their social media pages, follow them on Spotify and buy some merch from them! Likewise, if you like my reviews, follow this blog on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date,
I'm giving Mordrake an 8/10
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