'War Against Morals' MCD (2002)

Review by Vrag Moj (http://vrag.cjb.net)

This is the second 3-track from the Sydney entity, the first having come out

last year under the name of Soulblighter. That one raised a few eyebrows,

I was eager to receive the follow-up. A little longer and more homogenous

this time, all the songs span about 7 min, quick compositions in the vein of

obscure, coarse Black Metal. Coarse in the sense of sound: although the

recording is digital, the music is drowning in a forest of hiss needling its way

 into the subtler details. The songs are built up around linear machined beats,

cascading chord structures, flickering tremolo riffs and occasional flowing

strumming. I think Xeraxis tries out a more brutal approach to the one taken

previously, but the result, is quite atmospheric.

The music relies too much on droning anti-melodies and bizarre shifting

undercurrents, to be “brutal”. But maybe I am mistaken. The Abyssic Hate

influence is definitely not so present, even though this music sounds familiar,

it does not remind me of anything in particular. Now that I think about it, I

cannot even pick a favourite out of the limited choice of 3. Something really

unusual about Xeraxis’s music, I suspect there are great things ahead.

Meanwhile get a copy of this and enjoy a breath of frosty air from a very

bleak abyss.