For a band this new, the sheer compositional confidence borders the outrageous on this thoroughly absorbing debut album from Xenith.

XENITH

Formed in 2024 this Manchester band has already delivered some strong releases, with the self-titled EP and last year’s single Swim forging a melodic death avenue edged with thrash. Vocalist and guitarist Billy Hourigan remains the sole original member joined by Karim Treifi, Jamo Morris and Casey Dennis on drums, bass and guitar respectively. Considering how recently this band the band is operating far beyond expectation with highly accomplished musicianship as this debut full length is superb listen.

TO NO AVAIL

I was taken aback the album’s maturity. It sounds more like the work of seasoned veterans than a debut, thanks to the expert song writing and polished sound. Few bands have the guile or audacity to open with a seven minute epic but that is exactly what the four piece does with Take Me Back Where I Belong. The acoustic guitar work is steeped in melodic melancholy that blooms very briefly into something you’d hear in atmospheric black metal before moving into melodic death with deft tempo changes. Harsh vocals dominate as the song switches into full melodic death metal as there are peripheral similarities to Countless Skies, but with a sharper more acerbic edge.

ALONE

Alone evokes the Finnish melodic death scene due to the pirouetting guitar work honed by sporadic speed insertions and phenomenal leads. Countless comparisons exist but Mors Principium Est and Omnium Gatherum serve as the clearest references as Bludgeoned drenches the album in thrash riffing, its caustic guitar work being far more abrasive. Its catchiness derives from driving riffs and double‑kick groove while the exemplary solos feed off the songs innate abrasiveness at every turn.

NO TIME TO WASTE

The band’s At The Gates influence surfaces clearly on No Time To Waste, though the guitar duo lean heavily towards the Michael Amott school of playing with biting phrases. The closing minute or so is absolutely inundated with virtuosic guitar work, that is reminiscent of the sadly departed Alexi Laiho (Children Of Bodom). The bridging piece, Descending, sections the album leading into Killer Instinct, the first single, and opens with acoustic guitar work with some subtle jazz inflected bass work. The speed burst is briefly aggressive as it gives way to a groove focused riff that ramps up the density.

THE WEIGHT TO PRETEND

I gravitated towards the more melancholy aspects such as The Weight To Pretend with its mournful tone hiding within a catchy riff. The seamless riff changes and yet another stand out lead set up the closer Out Of Contempt. Shorter than the opener but equally epic the shimmering guitar work swerves into faster territory. Despite its melodicism, an eerie hook briefly surfaces, as the blasted acceleration underlines their brutal commitment to adroit musicianship and uncompromising melodic wrath.

Future titans in the making, the sheer maturity and ambition on display mark them as one of the UK’s most promising new metal acts.

Xenith: Bandcamp

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