Kingdom Venom I

Xaemora is a symphonic black metal band from St. Louis, Missouri. The band has been tolling around the scene since forming in 2012, garnering a sizable following after opening up for a bunch of bands in the area. They released a short demo in 2013, the aptly titled 2013 Demo, and returned again at end of 2014 with their first EP, Kingdom Venom I, which was released digitally by the band and on CD through the notorious Turkish label Merdümgiriz.

Apparently Kingdom Venom I is the first part of a series that will be continued with the band's still upcoming debut full length, which is tentatively titled Kingdom Venom II. When or whether it's going to come out seems up in the air, but until then we still have Kingdom Venom I to dig into. The EP runs through six tracks and twenty-four minutes of melancholic and rather melodic black metal with symphonic backgrounds and some impressive musicianship. It sounds fairly similar to the late '90s Scandinavian scene, calling to mind Enthrone Darkness Triumphant era Dimmu Borgir and even traces of Emperor and Limbonic Art.

The base of Xaemora's music is mostly cyclical trem riffing and battering double bass runs, though there are a few doses of militant, rhythmic power chords a la Hate or Behemoth. It's not really inventive, but there are a lot of good ideas with the presentation of the riffing. The constant swath of hanging symphonics adds a rather haunting and dark atmosphere, but it really takes away from ferocity of the riffing. When Xaemora is at their strongest is when the percussion and guitars collide together in a miasmic swirling of chaotic black metal. It's during these moments that the keyboards seem to fade into the background, losing their prominence in favor of the pummeling second wave worship.

These guys are certainly competent musicians, as the guitar leads are pretty tight and the rhythm section creates a constant heavy hitting rumble. The recording quality is a little muddy, which is sad because symphonic black metal thrives on crystalline production. You can still have darkened atmospheres with a clean sound. Regardless, Kingdom Venom I is a nice start for the band and, with any luck, Kingdom Venom II will be unleashed soon.