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One hell of an album indeed.

I would like to continue this thread, as I’ve been trying to find artists new and old from Israel. I’m specifically interested in the more melodic, Goa trance side of things. Artist albums + compilations are both on my list. I’ll get the thread moving with my favorites: Astral Projection Afgin Sykespico MFG Who knows of other artists from Israel? Trying to make an Apple Music playlist mostly of albums, although good individual songs are appreciated as well.

Xenomorph - Netherverse (2024) Suntrip Records 1 Sinister Contours 9:17 2 Dying Sun (Sol Aeternus Mix) 8:03 3 War In Heaven 8:35 4 Negative Time (-L Di/-Dt Mix) 8:20 5 No Beginning No End 8:39 6 Nebula Of Souls 7:47 7 Subdimensional Anomaly 8:38 8 Abode Of The Damned 8:46 9 Netherverse 8:38 Wow, it's so interesting reading the comments here. Fans are so split. Some really like it. Others find it a mixed bag or disappointing. I actually share many feelings on both sides. For me it began with the EP which I found monotonous, lacking the visceral, dynamic mixing and more ambitious, fiery approach associated with the artist's previous work. To recap, Cassandra's Nightmare (1998) I eventually warmed up to. Basically think Goa chapters in a horror film-- the debut was overblown and bombastic, but creative. It took risks, and showcased an new approach to dark Goa. Qlippoth (2003) I found more provocative, mature, dark, and sinister, as if the artist was mores tuning into the darker energies (lower vibrational reams) realms associated with the dark occult [hidden knowledge]. Recently I was inspired to share more on that via Qlippoth Review thread here: https://www.psynews.org/forums/topic/6224-xenomorph-qlippoth-review/page/2/ I personally loved his third album, Demagoguery of the Obscurants (2007). Sure I had some criticisms like some of you-- for me the metal-esque singing in one song (thankfully not more) distracted from the engrossing music. For those who found the "phases" of the songs conspiracy, I have no interest arguing, and yes there is a powerful, wealthy group of people affiliated with the dark occult IMO. I feel Mark nailed the old vision of the Elites (dark ones) right down to nuclear war. That said, since we're on the topic of dark inspirational albums (Inspiration like Love AND Fear is not limited to third density consciousness), I used to practice and incorporate remote viewing along with tools via self-powered protection when observing these spaces that inspire artists (on the surface) with the intent of producing a powerful, cosmic horror film one day that shows the root of darkness (separation from light, trauma, fear, the mind, manifestation of various lower frequency spaces) we refer to as places in various areas throughout the Earth (and other planets according to the occult that vary in lower and higher vibrational frequency ranges) that can be accessed through occult practices, meditation, astral travel, black pyramids, seances, rituals, etc. It's fascinating stuff and I prefer to focus on the positive, higher dimensional spaces a la Telos, etc. That said since we're talking Xenomorph, some of these beings know when they're being observed. They KNOW when you're remote viewing them and hook on to ones field like moths to a flame. I'd say (inside my mind) when this happened "I LOVE YOU" as it breaks the fear paralysis (one's mind goes through) as one shifts back in the room, awake as if shifted out of the muddled, self-aware realities via consciousness. Then you feel weird until the ick wears off as the logic mind is processing. People living on the surface will one day be aware of how amazing our Earth is (deep within) as we work through and process the symbols of trauma and separation relative to the lower spaces and eventually experience non-duality. I stopped voluntarily remote viewing dark spaces many years ago, as I began experiencing shit right out of The Entity (1982 horror film), where energy would get violent when fully awake-- until I said inside my mind (when being paralyzed to speak out loud) fully: "You are not welcome here. You must leave now. I accept Jesus Christ as my lord and savior" (repeat). This clears them with self-belief and repetition until one can speak again out-loud, transforming the magnification of fear into empowerment. But I digress. I imagine Mark Petrick tapped into these realms just as Clive Barker did. And while I like his forth album Netherworld (2024) to some degree, and the way he incorporated touches of light in the darkness, I have criticisms or constructive feedback that I hope inspires a superior fifth album. 1. Sinister Contours has dark atmosphere, sound bits, and synths that right away remind me of Demagoguery of the Obscurants (2007) to some degree. I like the dark goa sound/melody work, though structurally the beat and bass line get a bit repetitive. In his earlier albums, I feel like more sound enginneering and development was incorporated. The songs DO develop and are on the darker side. Mark Petrick is great with synths. Even when the song's technicals are noticeably simpler, I feel like he could have surprised us via evolved the second half of Act 3 here more. This is a solid song IMO that lacks the power of the opening track, Prognosis on Demagoguery of the Obscurants (2007). B 2. Dying Sun (Sol Aeternus Mix) is MUCH BETTER than Track 1 IMO, and one of my top favourite songs on the album. I LOVE the sound/melody work. It's a great example of duality, combining darkness with light as if one is shaping a dualistic third or 4th density/dimensional Universe of 12-13 acknowledged in the occult. Each act comes with fresh ideas, synths, and development. Sure the beat and baseline are pretty standard, rote, and I'm okay with that. I love the song's development here, and find it engrossing. Then there's the key change in the second act, accentuating the sound/melody work at 3:30. This is so atypical, innovative, catchy, and welcome from what I'm used to from this artist. It's less hard hitting (beat-wise, synths, grit) than his other songs, and I'm okay with that! The transition in the fifth minute leads us to refreshing, delightful sound/melody work. I think the artist could have innovated or spiced things up more in the second half of the third act. That said, this is one of my favorites! Well done. A- 3. War In Heaven is a return to being darker a la Sinister Contours (but not as dark as previous albums). Again, I notice some cross-over synths or ones that remind me of Demagoguery Of the Obscurants (2007), one of my favourite dark psytrance albums. I like the crisp sound/melody work and voice samples. They're never overused. I love the blinking little synth effect at 4:00 (wish that reprised later with more innovation). Is it me though or does this production, good as it is-- feel a bit restrained both in power/rawness and creatively?, as if the artist is fairly reserved from unleashing the full fire power games so often present in his work? I love the little transitional changes. I'm a sucker for his synths that sound contemporary and yet nostalgic. The last act brings everything together well, like a conceptually contemporized albeit less dark goa approach to A Nightmare on Elm Street. That said, I can't help but feel that we're missing some intensity, development, and programming to some degree that contributed to more impressive, fleshed out songs on his earlier albums. In other words, I hear the echo of (some of your) criticisms, but I also like the song to some degree despite its shortcomings when compared to the artist's most impressive work. B+ 4. Negative Time (-L Di/-Dt Mix) is the first song I heard on his EP. Granted this seems like a different mix. The first act is catchy, though it seems to replay numerous synth measures with little to no alterations or change. We reach what sounds like a voice sample from Lance Henriksen in one of the many intriguing, dark film characters he's embodied. The transition soon after is a bit repetitive but leads us to an attractive, elegant final act. I really like the synths, though they're a bit repetitive. If I didn't know this was Xenomorph, I'd say it's good/great. For Xenomorph though, I'd say this is fairly lite to some degree, and showcases a less dark, firey side of the artist while still incorporating darkness. I like this song. I just know that this artist is capable of taking things to the next level-- into more expansional, impressive realms than the heights he's reached here. B+ 5. No Beginning No End begins with more color via contextual synths. The first act is fairly psychedelic, though a bit monotonous. I like the dark undertone. The second act's grittier, with almost a touch of anger in the third minute before changing up the synths, works well. It's just these grittier moments that we were showered in during his previous albums are much softer this time around, less present. I'm NOT suggesting Mark should return to producing pure dark/evil albums. Rather I'd love to see more time invested in making the stories richer, more contextualized, invigorating, developed, and satisfying, where acts are more substantiated with imaginative peeks, twists and turns, occasional powerful buildups and climaxes, evolution, awe, fantasy, light and dark. I like the skipping synths here, the interludes and sounds as the song progresses, the last act's buildup while keeping the dark undertone intact, etc. His mixing is so fluid, and the dualistic (light/dark) approach is smooth, easy on the ears. A little more innovation and a more memorable third act would have been nice. B 6. Nebula Of Souls starts great, like a dark fantasy novel or film. I love the atmosphere, enchanting dark synth work, plot twists and turns, buildup, climax... well we get some of that. The first act builds nicely, wetting our appetite. Little squiggly sounds litter soundscapes in ice-cold moving atmosphere. There's a recurrent, repetitive synth I feel works with the layering of sounds to Act 2. In the third minute, the music begins to feel more contextualized, rougher, more gritty and aggressive. Now where has this been almost nearly this entire time? Finally some fire. Sure conceptually the synths are a bit repetitive, but I feel like we needed this... more power and aggression, more visceral-sounding synths. They fall the background as dark ambient notes carry the last act to the finish line and while I appreciate the change, I feel like this was an opportunity to incorporate something more exciting and revelatory to spruce up the finale. This is another solid song. It's just nothing spectacular like most of the songs on the album. B+ 7. Subdimensional Anomaly slowly builds to the second minute where more storytelling engages. I really like the blending of elements, from numerous synths and soundscapes, to interludes, voice samples, and stronger, dark terrain. The mixing is good, though I wouldn't argue with anyone who feels these more exciting develops grow fairly repetitive. The second half maintains the catchy synths coupled with slower notes. I like the ambient notes in the last act, reflecting sadness, reflection, and contemplation. I think the song could have ended more memorably. Overall we get so little when it comes to solid, dark Goa anymore. I'll take what I can get. It would have been cool if the second half was as intriguing and satisfying as the first half, albeit with more power and excitement by the end, but I admire the artist's more pensive, thoughtful direction. B 8. Abode Of The Damned as with Dying Sun (Sol Aeternus Mix) showcases stronger storytelling development IMO. The first half builds strong, acknowledging the underworld (the Great Below) that does not fit into modern academia, thus have been classified as fiction-fantasy / folklore / conspiracy, whereas we are inspired by the stories of higher truths, ancient civilizations, technology (including the pyramids whose insane energy comes out the tops), and eras that predate ours a la Shiva, Krishna, etc. The storytelling here feels homogenous, more substantiated and strong. I love the evocative feels, the gritty synths, and overall structure. The song feels more inspired if that makes sense, and in this somewhat simpler, contemporary style, to me this is easily one of the album's best songs. B+ / A- 9. Netherverse is an ambient-influenced downtempo number. The first half... we're floating in space, experimental atmosphere. The induction of a tune arrives in the second minute as I start to grow impatient, hoping things are going to heat up and grow more engaging. A slow kick drum enters the third minute along with synths mingling in the atmosphere... And again, I wait in hopes that the song will turn into a powerful, downtempo gem. Unfortunately, the interlude in the forth minute leads us to more of the same. There's a slow, attractive sound in the fifth-- I love the idea of concluding with a downtempo number. I just wish the song developed into something deeper, richer, more powerful, memorable and satisfying. The key change is nice towards the end, and the visionary approach, writing and direction-- the execution could have been so much more. The end result feels undercooked, underwritten, and under-developed. I was left wanting more and while not bad per say, wished the overall song was more memorable in a good/great way. B- CONCLUSION Where to start... On one hand, we get so few solid dark Goa albums now days that I want to savor what I like about this album until something better arrives. On the other hand, its been 17 years since Mark's released an album, and while I like it to some degree, it did NOT exceed my expectations. For me the album feels fairly underwhelming and at worst (at times) lazy compared to his previous albums, though it does showcase some very good/great work. The simpler, less ambitious programming/mixing aspects include less riches via details, textures, lure and mythos... less unpredictable, powerful, gritty, aggressive, and daring (risk-taking) work, lighter on development, buildups, climaxes, holy shit (wow) moments, etc. I like that Mark incorporated more duality in his songs rather than each song being saturated in DARK/EVIL tension to the degree of his first three albums. I don't mind that, as much as I wish the songs had more work invested in the sound engineering, storytelling development, mixing, and arrangement department. Maybe I wouldn't be so critical if he wasn't so gosh darn talented and great. A couple songs REALLY stand out over others, but that's normal I suppose. His other albums IMO felt more organic, tighter, sharper, more intelligent, chaotic and wild-- with greater moments of awe and satisfaction. I miss the buildups via impact effects and RAWNESS of his third album, and I'm glad this wasn't a direct repeat. It's smoother, more modern and contemporary, but in doing so, loses some ingenuity, appeal. Sometime I feel like it's a bit too lite, as if the artist compromised with the label's suggestions or requests. Don't get me wrong, the world needs less darkness. I love the idea of incorporating more light in the darkness via duality as he did here without being cheesy as he is not, and I would have loved more dynamic mixing, variety in baselines, beats, etc., as some feels too auto-programmed. The artist's general style in synth (sound selection) and mixing is fluid and easy on the ears, and I'm sure dance floors. Songs like Dying Sun and Abode of the Damned really stand out, and felt like more time was invested in making those strong examples in this refined, updated style. Some of the others (more or less) however feel a bit underwritten, underdeveloped, and/or less ambitious and daring than they could have been, and considering the expectations associated with a legend like Mark Petrick. On the plus side, I can play Dying Sun and numerous other songs are dance-friendly, easy to get into. I find some of the work here refreshing, great. But is it me, or does this album sound more mainstream-friendly and a bit conventional in that senses to some degree? I see both sides: Those who like it and those who don't. I find myself somewhere in the middle, liking it while acknowledging its shortcomings. I know he's capable of producing more memorable songs with greater lasting appeal, complexity, imagination, power, etc. Maybe being older now, he has less interest investing as many hundreds of hours into production, and if so, who could blame him? Work smarter, not harder. Being that its been 17 years, my expectations were higher and yet this has an is growing on me. The contemporary approach here is just simpler-- less dark, less wild, less fiery, less dynamic, less textured, less riveting to the degree we're used to. But it's still there. It's Goa. It's dark. And if this was another artist maybe some of us would be easier in our analysis. Netherworld (2024) sounds ALMOST a bit too refined and clean (opposite of raw) for its own good, and the last song feels unfinished, like it was on its second or third (out of four or five) re-writes. The album lacks the OOMPH, punch, and explosiveness. Yet I enjoy what works -- the dark, apocalyptic sound/melody approach I find irresistible at times. And parts do sound a bit repetitive, and could have used more refining. Sigh... I'm such a fan of dark Goa with catchy melodies, and haven't heard a new dark Goa album in some time. The album feels a bit rushed to me in places, like it could have benefited from more time in development, and yet much of the album feels complete. Anyway, these have been my back-and-forth conflicting perspectives building up to writing this. One way of looking at it-- we could have NOT gotten a forth album at all, and now we have something to talk about, which at least brings more curiosity and liveliness to the forums This is far from a bad album IMO, and I totally see the polarizing (love or don't like it) reactions! Favorite tracks - 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 B+ Stream the full album playlist on Suntrip's YouTube page attached

I can kind of see where you're coming from a bit more now. Some tracks do have pretty generic kicks and basslines. Doesn't bother me though since there's still so much personality everywhere else, and I like the modern production. Abode of the Damned is fantastic. Negative Time gives me MFG vibes with the relentless energy, big spacey sounds and euphoric climax.

Central Rishon Kaledioscope Retox just the best trance there is. sadly alot has disappeared from youtube over the years.

i can kinda see where you get MFG from here i guess? But unfortunately the kick+bass ruins it for me after a few more listens now, i think its not my cup of tea at least. the sounds are way too simple (the music is decent, but sounds not so much). and i absolutely hate the kickdrum and especially the bassline. damn near sounds like 'init patch' of any virtual analog VST, with unison and lots of stereo imaging whats the 2nd best track from the album in your opinion?

i think it sounds very good, probably the best so far tbh! the key changes around 5:50 mark and onwards are very nice, again reminds me of something that i cant put my finger on right now.. oh yes now i remember. similar key and key changes are in this track aswell, by solarforce. ( -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04jXxZhzxfA- ) can you give a bit more information about the samples you used? and from what synths they were sourced? for such things as kick, bassline, hihats, leads etc. would be interesting to learn where you found all the samples at that time (98).

87bpm Recorded this one on 4/20. Took a while to put this one together, a few months tweaking sounds and effects, it's a live hardware jam recorded straight from the mixer, I didn't even do any post processing on this one even though I guess it could use a little boost but anyways I liked it enough as is, might master it later. It's pretty long again meant to be more of a journey, if you don't like long intros skip to about 4 mins in I guess. Hope you enjoy ☮️🕉️

Indeed. A solid release 9/10

Well that was fun Check out A1ON's DJ-set here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2125187677

Well that was fun Check out A1ON's DJ-set here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2125187677

Vinyl is SOLD. CD is still available.

Yes, I tried this many years ago, I searched from 2000 to 2003 for all the songs with this name, Serenity, but I couldn't find this id! There are two options, either it has not yet been uploaded to the discogs database by a contributor, or it exists, but under a different name than Serenity! We'll see, there are songs that I found after 15 years, and that makes me feel like it's something obscure, I hope it's not an unreleased song.

A10N is Live in 2h. https://www.twitch.tv/space_toilet_radio Party on ❤️

It's on live now https://www.twitch.tv/space_toilet_radio/

https://facebook.com/events/s/rise-and-thrive/449128434443589/

https://facebook.com/events/s/rise-and-thrive/449128434443589/

Interesting to see how tastes can differ, I listened to all the tracks and like this one better than most posted before, though it does sound a bit empty, but the sounds and melodies sound more mature than most tracks before in my opinion. The melody at 3:30 sounds simple but very good, and I like the last part of the track.

Okay, I'll be honest here. This next track is quite terrible. Finished in mid-January 1999 after I took about a month off making music, this one tries a bit too hard to sound like the classic Hallucinogen track LSD (and fails at it quite spectacularly). In any case, the remaining 3 tracks are much better than this, and maybe you can find something positive about this track because I sure can't 😅 P.S. that track title is quite facepalm-worthy too.

Yeah, listening the the album now, track 2 is impressive. Track 6 however, getting praise in the reviews but I found that melody in the second half a bit out of tune, sounds like it doesn't fit right, too bad because the track itself sounds very interesting. Track 8 is one of the best. It's a very good album, though I agree that in some tracks, sequences are too repetitive. I agree with a comment above regarding samples, Xenomorph has always been a master at this, the samples are always well chosen and positioned a the right moments. Regarding the mention of Filteria, I am glad Xenomorph is just a better artist in my opinion, he makes tracks that sound more coherent and harmonic, with vision.

Sounds very nice hope we find out. Sound feels familiar

It was just my first impression. I haven't even listened to the full album yet but the sound of it threw me off. I'll give it a few more listens 🙂

vinyl experts, anyone know it? ->

OUT NOW! Available in both physical and digital formats on our Bandcamp page 😊

Looks epic!