XANTAM - Life Death Beyond - MC DEMO

XANTAM's debut demo, LifeDeathBeyond. Originally self-released last year, XANTAM's LifeDeathBeyond is a true gem of the black/death underground, both birthed from ancient times and exuding a freshness quite unlike anything else around. The work of one Xantam the Beholder, LifeDeathBeyond creates a swirling, spiraling vortex of scabrous-yet-shimmering decibels, rabidly raw yet lucidly played. Its unique locus is that nethervoid of when death metal was beginning to expand its creative boundaries and black metal's second wave had yet to bloom, where both subgenres were feeding off each other's respective growing pains and birth pangs. And yet, XANTAM even more uniquely locates corridors rarely explored by those same pioneers 20-plus years ago, piling high emotive lead-work and hypnotic synth motifs, all the while guiding the listener along down an otherworldly path that's epic in scope and engaging in execution. Sure, it may be "rough around the edges" as the euphemism goes, but the sheer boldness of vision displayed by XANTAM on its very first demo suggests boundless brilliance for the future.