Qrixkuor – Poison Palinopsia – Album Review

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To the casual and sane music listener Qrixkuor’s first full-length release Poison Palinopsia is the aural equivalent of a deranged nightmare. For those of us who seek such extreme stimulation this album is a twisted and exhilarating excursion into an outlandish musical terrain. Comprised of just two tracks that total 47 minutes, Qrixkuor‘s album is a psychedelic death metal symphony comprised of movements rather than individual songs.

Sharing a similar avant-garde take on death metal as fellow Brits Grave Miasma and Abyssal, Qrixkuor have unleashed one of the most complex, brutal and gripping albums in recent memory, with Poison Palinopsia almost progressive rock in its massive scope and complexity. Qrixkuor move throughout their two tracks with varying shades of musical discordance, sonic violence and malignant melodies, and this trio of Londoners manage to meld them all into a true work of extreme art.

Qrixkuor continue with their singular take on extreme abstract metal that began with their remarkable three-song EP from 2016, Three Devils Dance. With plenty of discordant melodies that are reminiscent of bands like Morbid Angel and Suffocation, Qrixkuor also have a knack for injecting tuneful phrases and atmosphere in and amongst the insanity of Poison Palinopsia. The intro music to both tracks are comprised of orchestral-like music that would suit a deranged horror movie soundtrack. There are a few pace changes from doomy passages to full-on blast-beats and never a dull moment anywhere.

Poison Palinopsia was produced by Greg Chandler (guitarist/vocalist for funeral doom gods Esoteric and singer of Lychgate) at Priory Studios in the U.K. The production is top-notch and keeps an appropriate amount of murkiness and warmth and avoids the all-too-common digital coldness of many modern death metal bands.. There’s a lot of obscurity throughout Poison Palinopsia’s two tracks and Chandler manages to keep the chaos quite coherent and make Qrixkuor sound massive.

The cover art by Daniel Corcuera is appropriately twisted with an obvious Alex Grey (famed ethereal and spiritual painter most famous for his TOOL album covers) influence. His cover for Qrixkuor’s EP was more unique but no less disturbing.

Even though the global extreme music scene is oversaturated and there are too many trendy “cavernous” metal bands, unique and superlative death metal like Qrixkuor will continue to rise to the top of the bloody heap. Invictus Productions and Dark Descent have released Poison Palinopsia and continue with their tradtion of signing such tremendous acts. Expect to hear more from this trio and check them out on Bandcamp where you can download one of their rehearsals for a mere €1. 9/10

Qrixkuor‘s Poison Palinopsia was released on August 13th, 2021 via Dark Descent Records.