Xanthochroid

Xanthochroid
Origin	Lake Forest, California, United States
Genres	Heavy metal, black metal, symphonic metal, progressive metal
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Erthe and Axen Records, Blood Music
Associated acts	Moonsorrow, Dimmu Borgir, Opeth, Ihsahn, Wintersun, Emperor
Website	www.xanthofficial.com
Members	Sam Meador Matthew Carl Earl Brent Vallefuoco Ali Tassinello Meador
Past members	Sean Culver Harrison Reese William Culver III Chris Levack Bryan Huizenga

Xanthochroid is an American progressive black metal band formed in Lake Forest, California in 2005.

History

The band released its first demo in 2010 and the following year their EP, Incultus, debuted. Since then, they have released three albums including Blessed He With Boils, Of Erthe and Axen: Act I and Of Erthe and Axen: Act II.

As of 2017, the band's line up includes Sam Meador, Matthew Earl, Brent Vallefuoco and Ali Meador.

Albums

Incultus EP (2011)

Xanthochroid released their EP in October 2011. Encyclopaedia Metallum gave it a 91% rating with the reviewer expressing "the Incultus EP's opening track 'The Last Relic of Axen' has a beautiful and haunting sounding acoustic guitar accompanied by a flute and some subtle strings, which then explodes in a blazingly fast tremolo picked blast-beat accompanied riff. At this point, you should be hooked." Sputnik Music said "Cello, keys and acoustic guitars are all present and the transitions are seamless. All of this and not a dull moment can be found. One such highlight might be the organ towards the end of 'Iced, In Extremis.' It perfectly showcases the dynamics and build Xanthochroid can create with their music."

Three years later the band released a remastered version of their Incultus EP and included a fifth track "Elegies of a Forgotten Race."

Blessed He With Boils LP (2012)

The band released their first album, Blessed He With Boils in December 2012, receiving positive reviews from many heavy metal music websites and blogs including Maximum Metal and Stereo Killer. Underground music website New Noise noted "Without a doubt, their debut is one of the best extreme metal albums that I’ve ever heard in my life." NO CLEAN SINGING, selected the album for its "Best of 2013" list noting "Epic may be an overused term, but that’s how Blessed He With Boils sounds. Epic and awesome." Brazilian music site, Groundcast, selected the album as number one for its list of Top 10 Albums of 2012. The blog, A Holocaust in your Headphones also selected the album for its "Top 20 Albums of 2012" list ranking it at number 11.

Of Erthe and Axen: Act I and Act II (2017)

Released in two parts, Of Erthe and Axen Act I and Act II were favorably received by many music reviewers. Metal Injection gave Act I a score of 9/10 and Act II a score of 8.5/10 noting in its review "Of Erthe and Axen: Act I does three important things at once: entices for its upcoming resolution, enhances the legacy of its creators, and exemplifies how adventurous, fluid, and refined such stylistic mergers can be in general."

In its review, music website Broken Amp recommended both albums writing, "Both of these albums feel authentic and dynamic, a true testament to the production values and the work that went into creating them. They were brave in their decisions and it paid off. Five years is a long wait, but Of Erthe and Axen was worth the wait and I fully suggest listening to both albums."

Can This Even Be Called Music? expressed, "Xanthochroid have put together nothing short of a magnum opus here, the kind of once-in-a-career album that most bands will never achieve, and that those who do almost never follow up."

Band members

Current members

• Sam Meador – lead vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar (2005–present)
• Matthew Carl Earl – drums and percussion, flute, backing vocals (2010–present)
• Brent Vallefuoco – lead guitar (2011–present)
• Ali Tassinello Meador  – vocals (2014–present)

Former members

• Sean Culver – drums (2005–2006)
• Harrison Reese – guitar (2005-2010)
• Chris Levack – guitar (2005–2010)
• William Culver III – bass (2005–2012)
• David Bodenhoefer – second guitar (2011–2014)
• Bryan Huizenga – bass (2012–2016)

Discography

Singles

• Iced, In Extremis (2010)
• Land Of Snow And Sorrow (cover) (2012)
• Harvest (cover) (2013)
• The Argent Crusader's Hymn (2013)
• Sleeping Stars (cover) (2013)
• The Great Sundering (2014)

EPs

• Incultus (2011)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Last Relic of Axen"	05:45
2.	"Iced, In Extremis"	07:36
3.	"Wormwood"	08:16
4.	"Incultus"	08:22
5.	"Elegies Of A Forgotten Race"	05:31
Total length:		35:30

• Incultus (Remastered) (2014)

Studio albums

• Blessed He With Boils (2012)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Aquatic Deathgate Existence"	03:00
2.	"Blessed He With Boils"	07:29
3.	"Winter's End"	05:01
4.	"Long Live Our Lifeless King"	08:55
5.	"Deus Absconditus: Part I"	03:58
6.	"Deus Absconditus: Part II"	05:36
7.	"The Leper's Prospect"	05:51
8.	"In Putris Stagnum"	06:26
9.	"Here I'll Stay"	02:39
10.	"Rebirth of an Old Nation"	09:00
Total length:		58:00

Interviews

• Groundcast Oct 5, 2012
• The Grim Tower March 2, 2013
• Teeth of the divine June 3, 2013
• Metalheads January 24, 2014
• Vision Rock Metal January 30, 2014
• Kosher Metal March 5, 2014

See also

• Black metal
• Symphonic metal
• Progressive metal
• Metalocalypse
• List of bands from the San Francisco Bay Area

External links

• Official website
• Xanthochroid at BandCamp
• Erthe and Axen Studios official YouTube channel
• Xanthochroid at Metal Archives
• Xanthochroid at last.fm
• Xanthochroid official Facebook page
• Xanthochroid documentary

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