XERATH — II (review)

XERATH — II album cover Album · 2011 · Symphonic Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
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)
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