Leaderboard

nope, xeno is not a better artist than filteria. you can tell pretty easily by the sounds crafted. Xeno seems to not care much about sound design, while filteria would spend a year on a kickdrum.. And as far as vision go, i mean, comon. Filteria basically invented neo goa. abode of the damned was pretty nice. well mixed. but sound design leaves alot lacking. negative time didnt remind me much of mfg.. but the 2nd half of the track was allright!

Xenomorph - Netherverse (2024) Suntrip Records 1. Sinister Contours 2. Dying Sun (Sol Aeternus Mix) 3. War In Heaven 4. Negative Time (-L Di/-Dt Mix) 5. No Beginning No End 6. Nebula Of Souls 7. Subdimensional Anomaly 8. Abode Of The Damned 9. Netherverse It's so interesting to read the comments here. I found the the Negative Time EP (2023) fairly monotonous, lacking the visceral, dynamic energy of Mark Petrick's previous albums. A brief recap, Cassandra's Nightmare (1998) was like Goa chapters in a horror film. It took risks and showcased a new approach to Goa. Qlippoth (2003) was more mature and provocative. Demagoguery of the Obscurants (2007) was a concept album reflecting the uncompromising, tragic [old world] vision of the elites (the dark ones via cabal) phases ending with Nuclear Winter. Years later, Xenomorph singles began appearing on Suntrip comps. Petrick's style was more contemporary, less hard edged, technical, more melodic and smooth. It was with Suntrip that I felt something powerful, raw, daring, and organic just did not cross-over that made this artist so brazen, unrestrained, and impressive. Fast forward to Netherworld (2024), the first main album by Xenomorph in 17 years. 1. Sinister Contours starts with strong atmosphere and a solid beat. The synths and samples are catchy, dark (not heavy dark) fun and danceable. The gritty synths in the third minute are catchy too, coupled with tight mixing despite the fairly simple sound design. The second act transitions at 4:15. Little soundscapes fly by as we catch our breath. An oriental synth arrives at 5:53, coupled with supporting synths, darker samples, a throbbing bass line. These elements are good! I like the ice cold ambient at 6:05. By this point however, the oriental sound design has grown repetitive as it crossed the sixth minute. The first two acts were substantially more interesting, fun, arresting, dynamically mixed, and punchy. The last act is too repetitive, as if stuck on a tape loop until breaking out at 7:48 that sounds better before falling prey to the same issue. The third act deserved to be exciting, punchy, developed, fun, and memorable, as any third act should compliment the first two, but it comes across as lazy and pales in comparison, as if the artist threw in the towel, and that's disappointing. I was really into this song beforehand and thought it was good/great, darkly sleek, fun, and danceable despite the simple beat, bass line, and more mainstream-friendly (without being commercial thankfully) sound programming. The song inspired me to listen to the opening track, Prognosis on Demagoguery of the Obscurants (2007), confirming that this artist can produce some of the strongest tracks from start to finish when he commits his mind to doing so. B- 2. Dying Sun (Sol Aeternus Mix) is MUCH BETTER than Sinister Contours IMO, and my top, if not one of my top favourites here. I LOVE the ominous opening, the raspy samples (that somehow work with the), atmosphere and synths. I LOVE the space astronaut sound accent effects (end of first minute), and the sound/melody work is excellent. The song gets richer, more tasty and delectable as it progresses. This is a great example of duality, rather than pure dark-evil-- combining darkness with light. Then a key change at 3:30, and the song does possibly the most beautiful, transformational thing I've ever heard from this artist to date, completely elevating the journey into cosmic, transcendental realms of growth and development before sliding back into the dangerous void. Sure the beat and baseline are pretty standard, and I'm okay with that. It's everything on top of it that's riveting and so unexpectedly strong, evocative, and enjoyable! This (more balanced in duality) song is so innovative, catchy, and welcome from what I'm used to hearing from this artist. It's less hard hitting (beat-wise, synths, grit) than his other songs, and I'm okay with that. Even a transition in the fifth minute gifts us more jewels via sound/melody work. Maybe the second half of the last act could have emphasized more edgier synths, but I'm nitpicking. This is such a well done song. It's imaginative and beautifully helmed from start to finish. Excellent track! A- 3. War In Heaven is a return to harder hitting, darker content with catchy sound/melody designs. This is closer to what I thought the opening track was going to be like from start to finish. I notice some cross-over sounds that remind me of Demagoguery Of the Obscurants (2007) which I love. The sound/melody work is crisp and energetic, though somewhat simple in arrangement, complimented by voice samples and plenty to engage my mind. The music improves as the song progresses. I love the blinking little synth effect at 4:03 (I wish that reprised just once more later) and how a voice sample transitions to catchier terrain. This has punchy (danceable) synths, and I love the little dynamic sound/progression at 5:12. I'm a sucker for catchy transitions to new surprises, sound/melody work, mixing. The contemporary meets nostalgic sound compliments. The last act brings everything together like a dark albeit less dark (than previous albums) approach coupled with melodies had A Nightmare on Elm Street had a Goa song. That said, I feel as if the music is just a bit restrained in power, rawness, grit, and delivery, as if the artist is fairly reserved to unleash his greater potential via fiery power. All in all, I enjoyed the smooth, fluid production, sound engineering, and delivery. Great track! B+ 4. Negative Time (-L Di/-Dt Mix) starts strong. We get a synth lead that breaks through like a tidal wave (beautiful effect) at 0:57 followed by more complexity. The first act is catchy, though repetition starts to sink in just before things shift at 2:40. We reach an interlude at 3:30 via voice sample that sounds like Lance Henriksen in one of his intriguing character roles. I like how the tone grow darker in the fifth minute. The song's synths remind me of the third album to some degree. The third act merges fresh ideas, good mixing and melodies. The end of the sixth into seventh minute features key changes, however they (here) combined with the sound design (arrangement) made the song feel more conventional and formulaic. But that's not make or break despite the song losing its sharp edge in the final moments. Nonetheless, I admire the dualistic rather than being dark-evil approach. I think there could have been more of a finale (edgy climax) towards the end. Otherwise, another great track! B+ 5. No Beginning No End starts promising, for about a minute. The dark tone is decent along with the sound at 1:03, though the synth at 1:30 wears thin along with the second and third minute. The synths around 3:33 is catchy via grittier (something this album lacks), but it's quickly discarded for a more conventional approach going forward, and this is where I start to lose interest. The predictable, redundant sound design builds up before climaxing into a conventional, repetitive, and uneventful final act. This song began with so much potential. Even its title sounds dark and intriguing, but the direction is generic (formulaic), redundant, and forgettable. More fire, grit, variety, complexity, kickass stomping energy and complexity, atmosphere, and just a better more contextualized song to the album would have been wonderful. And is it me or does this feel and sound rushed? The more I listen to it, the less I like it, and the more turned off I am. This artist is way too talented to release stuff bordering on selling out. C 6. Nebula Of Souls starts great like a dark fantasy. I like the atmosphere, enchanting sounds and synths. The first act builds nicely. Little squiggly sounds mingle with soundscapes in ice-cold moving atmosphere. There's a recurrent synth that works. It grows delectably grittier, rougher, more aggressive, and less restrained as the song progresses. That said, the song follows one set path, direction, and conceptually, is pretty one-dimensional. But it packs some of that rough edged rawness I miss. Again though, the structure and sound design grows repetitive, albeit more powerful and emphasized, and I feel like we needed this... something with more visceral and aggressive. Why not add this intensity to a more dynamic, varied, and elaborate storytelling chapter? Doing so could have produced an album selling super song. In Act 3 the synths fall to the back as slow ambient notes carry this across 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 which otherwise feels somewhat melancholy and anti-climactic, especially after the welcome, harder edged albeit predictable structure/drection. B 7. Subdimensional Anomaly opens with soft ambient, inviting us into the ominous fold. The bass line stands out for once. I like the evocative feel, synths, and key changes, especially the lead synth in the second minute that's accentuated by soundscapes, following a voice sample, stronger energy. Now we're gliding across the dark terrain, though a little more involvement via arrangement (sound programming) would have spiced up the forth minute. The song's second half maintains the catchy synths, combining fresh touches, samples, and punchy synths that remind of Mark's third album that works well here. The ambient notes compliment the last act, reflecting sadness and contemplation. The second half of Act 3 however could have incorporated more spice, intrigue, and development like the song's first two acts. That said, I admire the artist's more pensive direction. B 8. Abode Of The Damned as with Dying Sun (Sol Aeternus Mix) showcases stronger storytelling throughout. The first act builds intrigue, acknowledging the underworld (the Great Below) conveniently excluded from modern academia, as it does not fit in with established associations, hence fiction-fantasy / folklore / conspiracy / advanced ancient civilizations, technology, Shiva, Krishna, etc. The first act is dynamic, offering a variety of tighter sound engineering. The second act has more grit and energy, a thumping beat. I love like the tone, evocative feels, gritty synths, distinguishing acts, and voice samples. But the second half of Act 3 could have gone deeper to more magnetic degrees. That said, this is easily one of the best songs on the album, and my favorite song since Dying Sun. Great, excellent work. B+ / A- 9. Netherverse is an ambient-influenced downtempo number. The first half... we're floating in space, cold atmosphere. No beat. The eerily intriguing opening works well for the first minute. Not longer as not much happens. A synth arrives in the second minute as I start to grow impatient, hoping things will improve. A slow kick drum enters the third minute. It's okay albeit plodding. Again, I wait for this to turn into a powerful, downtempo gem, but the interlude in the forth minute leads to more of the same. There are some nice notes and key changes in the fifth and sixth minute, but to my surprise and dismay, the song ends soon after-- just when it was starting to get interesting and warm up! I would have loved if the artist developed this into a more memorable downtempo gem, condensing the best of the three acts (cold atmospheric-ambient opening, beat, notes, key changes) into the song's first half, before diving deeper into memorable greatness in the song's second half. Act 3 felt like it should have been Act 2 in story so that we can enjoy the feels develop into something more developed narratively, structurally, and more substantial, satisfying, and whole. I like the pleasant feels. Unfortunately, the song feels underwritten, underdeveloped with ideas and execution, and underwhelming. I was left wanting more, and should never feel indifferent or disappointed at the end of a Xenomorph album, especially after 17 years. Furthermore, this is the album's title track. You'd think it would be more memorable and sublime. C+ CONCLUSION So few dark Goa albums release now days that I want to savor what I like here until something better comes along. Its been 17 years since the last Xenomorph album. Mark's work has grown more contemporary via Suntrip comps. If you like this style coupled with some cross-over elements from his third album, you'll probably like this. I like it more than his work on Suntrip comps and find numerous tracks ( 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 ) enjoyable, good and occasionally great. Constructive criticism and feedback: Let's get this out of the way since I like this artist and album enough to end on a positive note. This 4th album by one of my favourite artists did not exceed my expectations like his last two albums. Tracks 5 and 9 feel like write offs. They're underwhelming. There are a some repetitive segments in Sinister Contours among a few other songs that could have been tightened up, as mentioned above. These moments upset an otherwise fun song, though dance floors are generally more forgiving. The overall album is less ambitious, less technical, less dynamic, less hard-hitting, less punctuated, less involved, provocative and unpredictable, less gritty, explosive, powerful, daring, and risk-taking, and less advanced via mixing/sound programming-- his third, more industrial Psytrance album really impressed me outside of the polarizing four songs with vocals. His previous albums felt more organic, unconventional, determined, raw, gritty, rough, chaotic, and unrestrained, and I miss that-- the magnetic, technical wizardry, moments of dark surrealism, build up, climax, awe, inspiration, innovation, evolutionary developments (at times), and complexity. I was listening to his third album this week, noticing how even the second half of its third acts improve, growing edgier, more engrossing in the last two minutes. His sound engineering and how far he took things in the third album was amazing. That's not the case here regarding the second half of the third acts that feel similar (a bit repetitive) to the first half of the third acts. The more mainstream friendly approach often works when it's not conventional or repetitive, but also (at times) feels like more Xeno-lite (not to be misinterpreted with light). I would have loved more complexity, catchy developmental arrangements, advanced mixing, sound designs, atmosphere, variety in baselines, beats, textures, details, accents, and a great closing song that doesn't wait for the second half to grow interesting before ending soon after. The good news is that Netherworld (2024) features a healthy amount of good and great songs. It's smooth, very melodic (at times), danceable, and easy to digest. It combines light and dark well via dualistic sound/melody designs. There is some atmosphere (great when present). Dying Sun (Sol Aeternus Mix) impressed me the most (my wife's favourite song), followed by Abode Of The Damned, Negative Time, and War In Heaven. These songs feature some really catchy synth work, mixing, dynamics via developments, and direction, and that's no knock against tracks 6 and 7 that are entertaining more or less. Even the first song is reasonably solid, though less memorable which leaves only two songs I didn't care for. I like that Mark Petrick's style isn't saturated in bleak, nihilistic dark/evil like his previous albums. Times have changed. We evolve. Well some of us anyway. The praise: "work smarter, not harder" probably makes more sense after 17 years, but how can one not compare the 4th album to the last two considering how top tier-- Qlippoth (2003) and Demagoguery of the Obscurants (2007) represent some of the best dark Psy/Goatrance albums ever released. This artist set the bar so high that not even he can top it. My suggestion is to give this a couple listens and decide for yourself. I like to listen to an album enough to identify the songs by titles, for them to form an identity in my mind like characters in a story, each it's own creative world, but that's me. One way of seeing it... we could have NOT gotten a forth album at all, and now we have something to talk about, which at least brings more energy to the forums! Also, thank you Mark Petrick and Suntrip Records for making a new Xenomorph album happen after all these years. While far from what I consider superb, there IS some superb work here, and plenty solid work in general for me to enjoy. Cheers! Favourites - 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 Least favourites - 5, 9 ... the latter could have been so much more satisfying and engaging with more time in development, and the album is more deserving than having formulaic fillers like track 5. B Stream the full album on Suntrip's YouTube

This album seems to polarize. 😄 For me it is the best new goa album for a long time. It has something of neogoa of the 2000s. 🙂 I remember we booked Xenomorph for a party here in Berlin in 2014. He played a 2 hour liveset. Most of the crowd get bored of his dark sound. People came to me and ask me when he is coming to an end. I think with his current new music the crowd will dance like mad. Maybe this is the reason his new music is more melodic. And possibly he listen a lot to Filteria and similar in the last 17 years. 😋 Every track here has his own signature. Track 2, 3, 4, 5 are pure killers!! And as a DJ I say this tracks will work very good on the dancefloor. 8/10!

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?