UMUR "II" is the 2nd full-length studio album by UK symphonic extreme metal act Xerath. The album was released through Candlelight Records in April 2011. It´s the successor to "I" from 2009 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as guitarist Andy Phillips has left. He hasn´t been replaced one to one, but instead Christopher Clark has been added as the band´s new bassist. Guitarist Owain Williams who performed both guitars and bass on the debut album now handles all guitars (and no bass).

Stylistically the material on "II" continue the symphonic extreme metal style of the debut album and it´s still artists like Meshuggah and Strapping Young Lad who come to mind, but with an added orchestral symphonic element (created with synths/keyboards). The basis of the music is brick heavy, featuring sharp and groove oriented riffs and rhythms. The vocals are predominantly high pitched aggressive screaming, but the album also features both deeper growling vocals and a few clean vocal parts. That part of the music is well composed and well performed, but it´s not the most unique sound that Xerath produce. When they add the orchestral symphonic element, which often sounds like something out of an epic movie score, a more original sound is forged. It´s a layered and busy soundscape but Xerath pull if off pretty well (also helped along by a powerful and detailed sound production, which suits the material well).

"II" is upon conclusion a good quality sophomore album by Xerath. The skills, the compositions, and the sound production are all on a high level, and fans of heavily orchestrated and layered extreme metal are recommended to take a listen. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

Conor Fynes 'II' - Xerath (4/10)

Xerath is a band from the UK that got some people excited with their debut. In 2009, the roman-numerically designated 'I' impressed many who listened with its powerhouse take on progressive metal, falling somewhat into what some call the 'djent' sound in metal, but also bringing some new sounds to the table, most notably some orchestral sounds. Technically impressive progressive metal with symphonic undertones is a fascinating formula in concept, and with their follow-up album 'II', Xerath continues to explore this sound. True enough to the acclaim I've been hearing about the band, they certainly know how to bring their skill as musicians to the table. All the same however, I am finding that this band's so-called 'distinctive' elements pass me as being little more than gimmicks, although by all intents, this is a decent contribution to the djent music community.

What one is bound to hear on a song from this album will generally consist of heavy, palm- muted guitar riffs that sound quite a bit like Meshuggah, as well as some screamed vocals and a heavy synth presence. For those uninformed about the djent sound, it is essentially a group of bands that dabble in the strange rhythms and palm-muted guitar techniques that Meshuggah largely pioneered, and as far as emulating Meshuggah's deep grooves go, Xerath succeeds. These are technical riffs that have 'progressive metal' spelled all over them, although despite the technical achievement of these guitar parts, there is very little melodic structure to them, and they start feeling all the same by the time the album is over. While Xerath executes their sound beautifully, the inherent lack of melody or surprise in this music led me feeling the unwanted sense of deja vu long before the album was over, and it makes the album's fifty-odd minute length feel much longer than it actually is.

The thing that many have been really swooning over with this band are the so-called orchestral elements. Xerath self-proclaims themselves to be 'orchestral groove metal', and while they do have the effective repetition and groove aspect down, the orchestral element here was what really disappointed me. Instead of a full blown symphonic arrangement or even fleshed string section as the term 'orchestral' implies, I was confronted by fairly cheap- sounding emulations, most likely either done on a computer, or with a synth. It's quite understandable that a working band is not often able to afford an orchestra, but things could have still worked out brilliantly if the arrangements here were anything that truly lived up to an orchestral standard. Instead, there is no symphonic element that gets me even close to thinking I'm hearing an orchestral score, usually, the orchestra is merely adding a deeper sound miles behind the metal aspect of Xerath, sustaining a note and then changing with the chords. The symphonic presence here does add a new depth to the band's sound, but overall, it feels more like a half-successful gimmick to distinguish themselves, rather than a valid artistic accomplishment.

Xerath's 'II' is a well-performed album, but there is nothing to the music that ever really excites me; the djenty tones and proggy metal riffs are all things that have been done much better by other acts doing a similar thing, and while Xerath should be acknowledged for trying to bring something new to the sound, the orchestral thing isn't doing much for them.

J-Man England's Xerath really hit a home run with their debut full-length, I, back in 2009. The band's unique blend of groove metal and symphonic orchestrations immediately gained them recognition from metal fans worldwide - myself included. Two years later, and Xerath have returned with the equally imaginatively-titled II. While still staying true to their core sound, the band sounds even more mature and experienced this time around, making II the best release Xerath has put together to date. Anyone who enjoys groove metal, symphonic keyboards, and progressive overtones definitely owes it to themselves to check out yet another fantastic effort from Xerath.

Like their debut album, the music on II is very much like Swedish veterans Meshuggah, but with orchestrations and a slightly more melodic approach. If you're an extreme metal purist, don't let the symphonic keyboards scare you away - they are extremely well-done and never detract from the other instrumentation, but instead add a haunting element to Xerath's music. Aside from the orchestral elements, the music here is a heavy and technical mix of thrash metal, death metal, and groove metal; mostly played in a downtuned, "djent" style. Although music this heavy and technical could get monotonous, II is an exceptionally well-written album and every composition is memorable, given enough time to sink in. This does take a few spins to fully grasp, but once you give it the time it deserves, II reveals itself as a terrific album.

The production and musicianship here are both absolutely wonderful. I remember back when I came out that I was very impressed by the technical capabilities of Xerath, and it seems that they've improved even more since then. I especially have to mention guitarist Owain Williams and drummer Michael Pitman when discussing the musicianship here - both of these guys are especially spectacular musicians, and an absolute blast to listen to. As previously mentioned, the production is great and provides a slick, powerful, and polished sound that suits the music perfectly.

In case you haven't checked out Xerath yet, II is probably their best release to date. This album shows a band oozing with creativity, inspiration, and plenty of damn good extreme metal to offer. II should reveal itself as one of the year's best metal albums - it really is that good. Anyone who enjoys crushingly heavy groove metal with a sense of melody and taste for orchestrations should definitely further investigate this great album. 4 stars are well-deserved.

adg211288 II is the imaginatively titled second album from UK metal band Xerath. The band is one of those that is difficult to pigeonhole in any one sub-genre, their music usually ending up as a combination of progressive, symphonic, groove and a little bit of death metal (mostly in the vocals), though the groove and symphonic elements are what forms the core of the band’s sound. They’re also one of the bands being associated with this whole ‘djent’ scene, although I recently found out through an interview with the band that they consider the scene ridiculous (something this reviewer quite agrees with). The major difference to other bands lumped into that scene is that Xerath is one of the few that produces generally exciting and un-generic music.

II kicks off with lead single Unite to Defy, a track which really highlights the band’s symphonic side before kicking off into some groovy guitar riffs. The mostly screamed vocals fit the music extremely well and the track sets up the template for the Xerath sound that can be expected of the album from herein. That isn’t to say that the album is predictable, because it certainly isn’t. Each track has an identity of its own while retaining that Xerath sound. The symphonic elements in the band’s sound really make the album for me though, because it’s actually rare that you’ll find a symphonic metal album delivered in quite this manner, and it makes Xerath stand out from the crowd. The album has an incredible flow to it, which results in something really epic, and I must say that even with a length of nearly an hour I don’t want the experience to end.

With an album such as II where the quality of all the tracks maintains such a high standard it is impossible to single out a few highlights as this album is one big highlight. I’m not personally completely familiar with the band’s first album I, but from what I’ve heard from it II improves on it in every way possible, so I expect established fans of the first album will really lap II up, and I also expect that it will be catching the attention of many potential new fans, and may cause others who were not convinced by I to re-evaluate Xerath.

Overall II by Xerath is a very impressive beast from this young band and it sees them really hitting their stride. It is an album where the first impressions are excellent and subsequent listens take the album up even into higher levels of greatness. This is a great album from one of the UK’s most promising young metal bands, whom any self-respecting metal fan should be paying attention to.

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven)