Featuring members of Nile, Rapheumets Well and Nile’s road crew, North Carolina sci-fi obsessed freaks Xael issued their second full-length, Bloodtide Rising back in February via Pavement Entertainment and today we’re premiering their video for “Srai – The Demon of Erring.” As heavy on the conceptualism as they are on the orchestrated metal, Xael have delivered an immersive experience with the concept of Bloodtide Rising which according to their bio goes a little something like this:
“Imprisoned by the counsel of Tymeer, led by the insidious entity Sen. Darmak ‘cursed with a degrading immortality’ and the Watchers of Xan were presented as an offering to the Sovereign Ruler and rare species collector, Atara Avuniir in exchange for military and economic support. Finding favor with the Queen, the Watchers were integrated into her elite guard where they became renowned for their success. Unforeseen, the Queen fell in love with Darkmak and she would bear to him a son. Vuul Athmar along with the outer planets of the Eiasian-Rim prospered yet the queen harbors a dark secret, an anomaly that threatens the outer-worlds.”
Got that? Good, because I haven’t the slightest idea what they’re on about. But don’t let that stop you; if you don’t feel like twisting your brain around the storyline, you can twist your brain around their progressive and labyrinthine take on blackened death metal a la Fleshgod Apocalypse, Dimmu Borgir, Cattle Decapitation, SepticFlesh and Nile.
When pressed for a comment about the video and the album from which the song is taken, the band replied by saying: “This video ventures back to tell how the antagonist Darmak of the story ended up with Srai, a deviant entity that some call a demon. It’s pretty much stalking him, but he ends up besting Srai. Unfortunately, the antagonist of the story suffers from an illness that causes him to faint in which he pretty much wakes up in the middle of a ritual with it trying to murder him (though unsuccessful). We were very limited in what we could do during the pandemic but I believe we pulled it off! The song has a mix of thrash, blackened death metal, and symphonic elements. We hope you guys enjoy.”
And about the album:
“In Xael, we are trying to not only create some brutal and primal metal, but cultivate the fusion of storytelling and epic adventures. We are building a multiverse with diverse planets and odd-powerful creatures, taking listeners on a journey. This specific album follows the ‘watchers’ as we are assimilated into the vile and mysterious world of Vuul Athmar. It is a tragic love story turned horror. Musically, we incorporate tribal elements, Asian and traditional folk instruments, and an array of vocals to capture the variety of emotions. Though there was a global pandemic, we worked hard to bring this musical odyssey alive and we are excited to finally share it.”
We’re also sure they’re excited to get back on the road after being recently being announced as openers for Bloodbath’s return to North America:
May 2022 Tour Dates w/ Bloodbath
May 22 – Brooklyn, NY – Warsaw
May 23 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
May 24 – Montreal, QC – L’Astral
May 25 – Toronto, ON – Opera House
Tickets on sale at www.bloodbath.biz
