Hey there, tech fiends. It's that time of the week again. Before we dive into today's focus, here's the usual weekly reminder that if you're looking for even more sick bands to hear, all prior editions of this series can be perused here.
A few weeks ago, Xael dropped their fantastic second album, Bloodtide Rising, via Pavement Entertainment. It seems thus far the album hasn't made the splash it should have so the least I could do today is launch a music video premiere today for the album's title track, "Bloodtide Rising".
If you're new to the group, Xael includes among their ranks Nile bassist/vocalist Brad Parrish, Rapheumets Well members vocalist/drummer/multi-instrumentalist Joshua Ward and guitarist/backing vocalist Daniel Presnell, along with primary vocalist/cello player Joshua Niemeyer and guitarist/vocalist/percussionist Chris Hathcock. That's a fuckload of talent and also a lot of killer musicians capable of playing multiple roles in order to create some damn cool music with a ton of depth and variety to it. This is precisely what Xael achieved on their killer 2018 debut album, The Last Arbiter.
From the strong foundation the group built on The Last Arbiter, Xael has done an incredible job of both expanding and refining the eclectic sound they began with into something grander on Bloodtide Rising. The album's music falls somewhere within a symphonic/progressive take on tech-death, without skimping on speed and brutality at the same time. Of all the tracks on their new album, I'd say "Bloodtide Rising" which we're premiering a music video for below, does a superb job at showcasing the many layers and styles that are a part of Xael's sound. The visuals for the video are also pretty great and the guest guitar solo from Augury guitarist Matthieu Marcotte is just icing on the cake.
The band sent me a statement about "Bloodtide Rising" to fill you in on where it fits within the album's lore. They told me that "Bloodtide rising was the first song written for the new album, thus set the tone of the entire album. We wanted to write something primal and epic, showcasing the brutal nature of the main antagonist of the story. Queen Atara Avuniir, in which is the subject of the song, is a goddess to the inhabitants of the outer planets. On arriving to this planet, she murdered the reigning species, a group of titan-like creatures using their bones in the architecture of her new kingdom."
So be sure to check out our music video premiere of Xael – "Bloodtide Rising" below. If you like what you're hearing, orders (and streaming related links) for their new album, Bloodtide Rising, are available here and here. You can follow the group over on the Xael Facebook Page.
