Described as a descent into existential dread inspired by genocidal trends, greed’s merciless corruption and the self-effacing nature of all men this latest full-length album from Seattle, Washington-based dark industrial/electronic music project XIPHOID DEMENTIA concerns itself with the potential aftermath beyond the unchecked structures of the powers that be. ‘Spiral Rapture Holy War‘ is potentially the most eclectic work from the artist to date whose death industrial/power electronic base now infuses deeper shades of neofolk, rhythmic industrial and harshened dark ambiance to illustrate the end of days at peaking escalation, one step beyond the cessation of habitable climes and cooperative instinct. Though the extremes of this experience will likely be trying per the average listener’s fortitudes the broad-set reach and specific tastes of the artist make for a surprisingly coherent and oft cinematic post-cataclysmic work.

Xiphoid Dementia has been a font of harsh electronic/industrial music output for artist Egan Budd (Headstone Brigade, Movers & Shakers) since 1999 typically combining harsh noise, power electronics with dark ambient and industrial muse. If we roll back to ‘Embalmed in Purity‘ (2005) and trace the leap up toward ‘Might is Blight‘ (2009) a devotion to harsh landscapes becomes increasingly illustrative, varietal in its elemental choices. With ‘Secular Hymns‘ (2012) their longform ‘scape-craft took on what I’d consider more of a death industrial (re: power electronics subset, not extreme industrial metal) inspired sound, at times percussive use of harshness to gild or obfuscate increasingly rhythmic (industrial) tendencies. From this point it should be clear enough that only fans of harsh electronic and industrial sounds will appreciate the sub-genre niche specific venture of this artist and their development.

While those major releases are key for those seeking the artists formative notions and precedence set what we find on ‘Spiral Rapture Holy War‘ probably has more in common with the artist’s output circa 2019/2020 between a strongly representative split with maestro Bastard Noise (‘Human Extinction Engine‘, 2019) and the ‘Prison of Hope‘ (2020) LP which explored rhythmically driven industrial, inspiration taken from from neofolk/martial industrial (post-industrial?) with some vocal contributions as key additions to their ouevre. The split in particular caught my ear some years ago and is the main reason I’ve taken a closer listen to this new album though it is a most direct continuation of the vision found on ‘Prison of Hope‘.

Those martial industrial, post-industrial and even dungeon synth (see: ~3:32 minute mark) inspired notes will make more sense once you’ve taken in stunning opener “In Victory There is Only Death”, an ear-crushing indoctrination for those of us who crank the volume on our first impressions via the neutron bombed power electronics elements which harshen the song’s movements into fittingly end-of-days worthy rhythms. This is the only song to include vocal performances that’re so prominent or essential, a touch of what makes Headstone Brigade compelling as well, and this makes for a clear highlight to kick off the album. This might set the bar too high for the rest of ‘Spiral Rapture Holy War‘, at least of you’re looking for more of exactly that opener’s style as the remainder of the album approaches variety in the same way the two suggested prior releases had, rarely returning to the cinematic explosivity of that first piece.

Depicting the slow grind toward machined-away purpose, a true death machine approaches within “Humanity’s Final Onslaught” as both a reminder of all of the territory covered by the artist and with some appreciable harshness developed over the course of its movement, bringing tact to Xiphoid Dementia‘s use of noise and its caustic modulation. The drift of the beat and the live-wire blur that peaks up in the second half of the song (beyond ~4:45 minutes or so) is a standout moment for my own taste and especially considering the next several pieces on this album will tend toward something less rhythmic and more focused on dark ambiance. “A Slow Genocide in Purgatory” is probably my favorite piece beyond the first two for its rise out of ambient textures and certainly for how it sets up destructive closer “Descending Angels of Total Annihilation”.

Entertaining as the innards of the album are the dramatic missile-ripping havoc of closer “Descending Angels of Total Annihilation” and its reprisal of those synth/martial industrial vibes beyond the opener highlights the juxtaposition of the chasm and its surrounding cliff faces wherein the bookending of ‘Spiral Rapture Holy War‘ maintains a layered, broadened vision of Xiphoid Dementia‘s venture here and the dark ambient nox and industrialisms in between are the festering landscape of terror and submission. Most of my enthusiasm for this album is thusly centered around where it starts, that strong initial launching of their hottest nukes for the first two pieces, and the grand march into nihil that closes the album but I’d point to “The Dark Before the End” as a sort of sleeper moment faceted right in the middle of the record as the meaty core of the experience, the lowest and most charred point of anxious death on the full listen.

Though power electronics adjacent and/or enriched music are few and far between in terms of my own niche electronic music tourism there is some broader appeal in both the collective, largely cohesive directorial composure of ‘Spiral Rapture Holy War‘ which renders it easy to recommend to the experimental music diviner of any shape. My own interest in martial industrial, dire-toned neofolk, and post-industrial inspired metal primed me well enough upon approach and as it turns out Xiphoid Dementia are less of a headache or ear traumatizer than expected even during extensive spans of listening. Beyond style the suggested themes, artwork and overall design of this album come with the artist at peak form thus far, offering a high point of both craft and conception. A moderately high recommendation.

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