Xterea – Guardian of Zeus [CD]

"Fast-fwd filth, grubby downbeats and K-holing trips from a clandestine new figure on John T. Gast’s inimitable 5 Gate Temple - RIYL Hekate, Conrad Pack & Gonz, Nkisi, ANA

Proceeding Xterea’s introduction at 5GT’s regular Ormside Projects showcases, the Londonder steps out ruff ’n rugged with a murky reprisal of late ‘90s / early ‘00s squat/free party juices and back-to-the-bedsit gouch out. It follows a fine thread of inspiration that links a lot of 5GT gear back to roots in the rhizome of counter-cultural rave music encompassing proper dub soundsystem sessions thru illicit warehouse parties and rural eldritch rave rituals. While that scene is now a shadow of its former self (understandably, due a ruthless babylon) its sense of radical freedom can be heard to endure in 5GT and is exemplified by Xterea here.

Bookended by passages of gloaming drone, the meat to ‘Guardian of Zeus’ is in its high velocity missiles. The unyielding hardstep of ‘Murky’ unleashes the grottiest squat party pressure, beside a lo-fi echo of Praxis’s Christoph Fringeli or Pure in ‘Demo 8’, and whizzed-up reggaeton in ‘Untitled’, whilst ‘Demo 12’ reminds to the ballistics of La Peste’s flashcore, and ‘Demo 9’ reminds to Nkisi’s Congolese take on doomcore. Factor in the warped wormhole of ‘Get Ya Lick Back’, and it’s a keeling flashback for ravers of a scuzzier disposition, veteran and novice. -- Boomkat"

5 Gate Temple, 2024