Xerath

Xerath is a progressive metal band from Basingstoke, England, that mixes extreme-sounding ingredients of thrash and death metal with symphonic orchestrations and high-brow lyrics inspired by scientific, philosophical, and theological subjects. In fact, when Xerath was first conceived in 2007, the goal of founding members, guitarist Andy Phillips, bassist/guitarist Owain Williams, and drummer Michael Pitman, was to fuse film scoring with syncopated rhythms and brutal guitar sounds somewhat akin to Sweden's Meshuggah. The resulting demos helped Xerath win Terrorizer Magazine's "Best Unsigned Band" award that same year (as voted by readers), and ultimately led to a deal with Candlelight Records, which has since released the band's spartan-named albums, I (2009) and II (2011), to generally positive critical responses. Amid these accomplishments, founding guitarist Phillips departed and Xerath expanded its lineup with vocalist Richard Thomson and bassist Christopher Clark.