Xenobiotic – ‘Hate Monolith’ [EP] [Album Review]

After a long day at work, there is nothing like coming home to listen to something akin to having your face slammed into a wall repeatedly. Well, this is exactly what you get once you press play on Hate Monolith, the new five-tracker from Perth’s brutal death metal maulers Xenobiotic.

Already a country synonymous with quality extreme metal, the Aussie quintet waste no time in getting down to business, smashing into the savage opener “Autophagia.” A tone-setting start for the EP, the band follow-up the almost feral opener by kicking up the tempo a notch through “The Wretched Strive,” a punishing, ear-wrecking four minutes of blastbeats and hellish vocals. Thankfully, the cinematic soundscapes that add a progressive element to the EP on “Nether” break up the pulverizing onslaught, but it isn’t long before the group returns to familiar territory.

As the EP heads into the final two tracks, the material continues to explore more progressive influences while still retaining that face-mushing brutality which is the core of Xenobiotic’s savage sound. As a stop-gap between their critically-acclaimed 2020 offering Mordrake and their next full-length album, Hate Monolith offers something that not will not only appease their hardened extreme metal fanbase but also delivers an exciting insight into their future, should they continue to take their sound in this direction.

Hate Monolith Track Listing:

1. Autophagia
2. The Wretched Strive
3. Nether
4. Pathos
5. Sever The Ties

Run Time: 21:13
Release Date: September 2, 2022
Record Label: Unique Leader Records