Sowing the Seeds of Destruction is the second full-length album by Connecticut-based progressive death metal band Xenosis. Described as their "finest and most mature work yet," Xenosis are "adept at uniting progressive and technical strains of death metal into something all their own." With groovy basslines, powerful drums, and cascading technical guitar harmonies; who could ask for more?
Masterful builds. That's the name of the game. Whether slower and based on melodic noodling as with "Rebuild, Renew;" or fast and filled with aggressive tremolo ("Red Waves"), Xenosis are all about upping the ante. They may trick you every now and then, as with the latter track's Living Sacrifice-esque drum and death vocal break, but rest assured that by the end of each track, everyone is coming together to slay the opposition.
Speaking of which, every member of this band makes their own strong contribution. The guitars almost go without saying, providing song after song of technical riffing, gripping hooks, and killer solos. The drums don't slouch either, beating those toms and smashing the snare like they owe him money. Pace changes abound as the tracks make their way to an ever more impressive finish line. Meanwhile, the bass does far more than fill out the sound, with some noodling of its own and at key moments taking center stage. Finally, the death metal vocals have plenty of presence, and there is also some impressive Lajon Witherspoonish clean vocals to compliment the acoustic guitars on "From Flesh to Dirt."
As far as comparisons with other bands go, Xenosis fall on some spectrum between Meshuggah and After the Burial. They even share some jazzy solos with the former, though they tend to follow the more melodic take on speed of the latter. I might also throw in Between the Buried and Me once more, as well as just a dash of later-career Enslaved. I'd be interested to mine what seems like an endless depth of influences, but in the end, Sowing the Seeds of Destruction has a sound more or less its own. More importantly, it sounds awesome. Check out the stream below and don't forget who sent ya.