Yesterday, we alerted you to the plans of Australia’s Ne Obliviscaris to debut a new song at midnight, Pacific Time, last night. And they did it. The new song, which will appear on their forthcoming debut album Portal of I, is called “Xenoflux”.
“Epic” is a tremendously overused word in metal circles, but I can’t help but use it here: “Xenoflux” is epic. At an even ten minutes in length, it will still leave you wanting more.
It begins with a a grand introduction — great hammering riffs, rolling drums, and a winding lead guitar paving the way to the song’s invigorating first segment. Jagged, blackened vocals conjure images of a wolf pack loping through dark woods on the hunt, while beautiful guitar work weaves melodies that are as entrancing as they are heavy. That opening five-minute segment is both head-smashing and emotionally powerful, but the achievement is more than matched by the three-minute middle segment which follows it.
All the instruments drop away, clearing the stage for a solitary guitar arpeggio. And from there, other instruments slowly join in, with a violin taking the lead, painting a meditative sonic picture that’s beautiful. In the song’s final segment, the music rises in power and intensity once again, the harsh vocals resume, and the band catapult the listener toward the finish — which comes too soon for these hungry ears.
“Xenoflux” is a beautifully imagined, beautifully constructed, superbly executed song that I think you’ll remember long after you’ve heard it even once. Stream it right after the jump. Portal of I will be out on May 7 and can be pre-ordered here.
15 Responses to “NE OBLIVISCARIS: “XENOFLUX””
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Man, I cannot fucking wait for this album.
Manohmanohman that part in the middle with just the violin…
Can something be stunning and sublime at the same time? I think so.
It’s sublumning!
Stublime?
Yeah, that’s getting there . . .
HA! Sounds kind of like sublimating: “the process of transition of a substance from the solid phase to the gas phase without passing through an intermediate liquid phase. Sublimation is an endothermic phase transition that occurs at temperatures and pressures below a substance’s triple point in its phase diagram.” Uh huh.
one of these things is not like the others. no one told that dude about the team haircut and short sleeves for the band photo?
I think that is the whole point. That guy’s Xenoyr, the band’s vocalist. Maybe the rest of the band just wanted to make him stand out from the rest of ’em.
totally. it definitely works.
Am I insane or is anyone else reminded of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in the first half? Because of the violin, I assume. The stublime violin.
Ne Obliviscaris are as good as any band out there. I have been fortunate enough to see them a couple of times live and they are equally fantastic on the stage. Can’t wait to see them very shortly as they tour Australia to support the album. Hails!
It seems that Australia is becoming a leading country concerning metal music. So many great bands from all different genres popped out of there in the last few years.
In case you haven’t heard of Aquilus, you should check it out >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYpLcfcCVnI <<
Just stunning!
I feel like this album will provide an Extol-like fix while I wait to see if the band themselves are coming back.
Good stuff.
Superb stuff indeed, can’t wait to hear the album.