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Xenomorph Negative Time 2023 Suntrip Records Negative Time 8:20 Danger On The High Seas 8:27 Lost In An Old Junkyard (Tow Hook Mix) 8:08 First up a complaint - I wish Suntrip would use vinyl mailers with corner protection and a STRONG box - this is the third order that has arrived with battered corners. Still, the vinyl plays with rich, warm, powerful bass from Tim Schuldt's mastering for 45rpm. Mark Petrick is Xenomorph, the first horror trance or darkpsy act. I wonder who had the guts to play out Cassandra's Nightmare (Koyote Records, 1998) in the late 90s? Oh boy, there may well have been some E'd up or acidified hands-in-the-air ravers chundering in the loos if someone put on any of the tracks from this album or the 12" that accompanied it. Sure, there were also UX, Orichalcum and the Deviant, Cydonia, and Planet Ben back then, but they didn't go for the jugular in the gothic fashion of Xenomorph. Influenced by metal, industrial, darkwave, classical, film, he was a unique artist and that is invariably inspiring. How many artists have the distinction of inaugurating a whole genre? "Negative Time" features midrange 303 fluttering and weaving, and then a simple 5 note melody towards the end. Nice subtle track and quite mellow for Xenomorph, verging on progressive. It reminds me of a lesser-known track called "Inner Spirits", a once off collaboration between Mark Petrick and Dominic Sangeet (not to be confused with DJ Sangeet) on Organic Records in 1998. Both tracks are quite chilled, but have an epic quality from spiralling melodies that culminate in an uplifting explosion towards the end. Petrick can easily do Goa bliss, though he is not at his most original doing so. "Danger on the High Seas" is darker, featuring a chewy bassline, and reminds me of Xenomorph's brief incarnation as the Brighton Trash Department, which was a short-lived collaboration with Dara Lee of Koyote Records. Brighton Trash Department did one 12" in 1998, featuring the awesome track "Costa del Goa" which is a dark sea shanty featuring a wonderful spoken word sample. "Costa del Goa" summons a spectral shipwreck through swirling mist and features clanky, twinkling sounds building to a massive minor key melody. "Danger on the High Seas" is nearly as atmospheric, which is saying something. It achieves this by similar salty sea dog samples, but also by carefully chosen sinister synth sprinkles. As "Costa del Goa" has it: "this is some spooky shit we got here". "Lost In An Old Junkyard (Tow Hook Mix)" is my favourite track on the ep. This track has such a great industrial rhythm section with the metallic percussion and foursquare beats that Xenomorph is well known for. Then sulky bass moog creeps in stealthily. Then the eerie treble melody rains from an empty sky. Then comes the haunting ghostly acid. Moody voodoo from the master. So there we have it: another devastatingly great dark Goa trance production by the ever-reliable Xenomorph. It is a wonder that Mark Petrick continues to make great tracks that barely glance at fashion ("fashion is something so hideous that we need to change it every six months" Oscar Wilde). He just continues in the forever-now of timeless trance. For me, this is apparent not only in the notion of "negative time", but also in the uncompromisingly uncanny Xenomorph sound - any of these tracks could have been on Xenomorph's first album. Don't you go changing now Mark, y'hear. ~*~ PS - I would be keen to hear about people's favourite Xenomorph tracks. I would include the aforementioned "Costa del Goa", "Antimatter", and "Dying Sun", but my favourite may be "Malkuth Temple" (not that I've ever heard a less than very good Xenomorph track).

https://www.facebook.com/Suntriprecords/posts/pfbid02qmcxEDoa5DrVhwq2NYJvc4zB9yC1f8gABv7bm3henGF7hRgNv8aJgK8BpTLFKLYnl So sad, I know he had some difficult times over the past few years Fly high Kerry and thank you for the music.

His music will live on, echoing in the 5th dimension... 🙏