review: Xael -- symphonic extreme metal

Xael

Bloodtide Rising

Pavement Entertainment

12 February 2021

Fans of the death metal institution Nile (U.S.) may be very interested to know that Xael involves Brad Parris (bass, vocals) from said band. Other fans of North Carolina extreme metal might like to know that this entity brings together other personalities: drummer Joshua Ward from Rapheumets Well (and is also a Nile drum tech), guitarist Daniel Presnell (formerly of Rapheumets Well), multi-instrumentalist and growler/singer Chris Hathcock from The Reticent (four albums so far), and Joshua Niemeyer (Metal Archives says that Joshua plays cello). With such experienced musicians, it should be interesting to see what they put together. First of all, it is ambitious, like the work in the previously mentioned bands. In addition, given that this is the follow-up to 2018's The Last Arbiter, itself a rather impressive debut album that did not sound like a debut but rather like the work of a long-running band, this new album provides what fans of the subgenre expect. That is, a group of musicians taking their best efforts to make that great album of symphonic extreme metal that fans remember years later. Death growls and melodic singing, intricate songwriting, cinematic atmospheres, and exquisite guitar solos are present as evidence of the mission to create a work hopefully can be remembered as more than just another extreme album in 2021. It sounds like the music that extreme metal fans imagine when watching epic films of ancient wars, civilizations and distant galaxies. Fans can assume that the symphonics is computer work, as is the drumming, as the information available to this publication does mention the involvement of an orchestra. The project would need much bigger budgets/resources for an orchestra. The drum sound is very clean and perfectly clinical, for your information, and not the sound of genuine drums played by a living human being. Unless these two issues (sampled symphonics and sampled drums) are deal breakers, expect to be impressed with the album and the band’s objectives to tell epic stories of distant worlds through extreme metal.

Xael - The Waste of Dreadrift (Official)

https://www.facebook.com/xael.metal/