[since I promised to write a review for older releases by projects and / or artists and / or labels and / or distributors (etc.) that I do adore (personally and / or musically), I will finish this one. This one is for Krzysztof!]
O fallen corpses of slaves, your dream is your nightmare…
The Polish humanoid Kamil ‘Oblivion’ is a very productive musician. Currently and formerly he is, or was, active in projects like Demonic Slaughter, Xaosis, Nekrodeath Funeral or Aryman (amongst several others). But his most prolific outfit must be the anti-modern civilization act Xaos Oblivion. Xaos Oblivion was formed more than twenty years ago (originally simply called Oblivion), with a modest yet interesting amount of great releases. Purely informative: at the very beginning of this year (2026), a new album was released, titled Morbid Paths Of Madness And Despair, once again via long-time befriended label Lower Silesian Stronghold (this time in partnership with Wolfspell Records).
For Radical Antihuman Ritual, Kamil got assisted by H. on drums; H. did some session work before for other things Kamil is, or was, involved with, like Void Dweller, Demonic Slaughter or Sytris. Everything was written, recorded, mixed and mastered by Xaos Oblivion in 2023, and released once more via the fine Polish label Lower Silesian Stronghold (run by the frontman of Dark Fury) in collaboration with Doomsday Elite.
As the title suggests, Radical Antihuman Ritual is a tribute to the decline of mankind in its most ugliest form: the current, mostly hypocrite state of society indeed. But ‘Nature’ in its purest definition, and the Pagan-themed relation to Earth, are at least as influential on this album. The artwork too (the intriguing black-and-white pictures are courtesy of Xaos Oblivion) refers to the fairness of Gaia. The album has a total running time of fifty-two minutes, which has to do with the length of the last composition as well: Ash clocking more than twenty-three minutes.
The album opens with a very short (too short) yet extremely ominous intro, Abnormal, like a piece of Black Horror Ambient Industrial. It does set the tone for much morbidity and extremism yet to come. It is also a fine-tuned introduction to Fallen Angel, which immediately shows Xaos Oblivion’s true face. And believe me: it is not an amiable face. Seriously, in the vein of the former releases, this song - and in extension the whole album - offers us a militant, blaspheme and intolerant mixture of Funereal Drone, Morbid Doom and Necrotic Black Metal. The aforementioned piece Fallen Angel, for instance, combines dirty slow passages of blackened nastiness with thrashing excerpts of up-tempo aggression. It comes with a raw, blood-spitting throat (not the traditional ‘blackened scream’, yet rather a smothering gorge), pounding drum patterns, and epic, even harmonious melodies. This actually goes, as guideline, for all other compositions too. And in combination with the ‘radically antihuman’ poetry (got it?), the result sort of becomes harsh. Harsh yet pure. Pure and therefor adorable. Adorable but totally misanthropic.
The atmosphere exhales a total disgust - disgust with the hypocrisy of humanity, disgust with the false promises of monotheism, disgust with human existence whatsoever. Not many projects are able to express this nauseous loathing on the human kind so explicit, so natural, so convinced. Xaos Oblivion does, once again. It goes for all ‘Metal’-laden pieces, yet as well for the short aforementioned intro and the very lengthy outro, Ash; the latter being a sermon of demonic ritualism, for being an asphyxiating, evocative, enigmatic and conjuring ceremony.
A word about the sound quality. Well, what did you expect? Surgically clean producing skills? An expensive top-studio mix? Indeed, it comes with all of this. …not… No, seriously, the production is rugged and shaggy, but it does fit. It’s not under-produced either believe me – but the rawness characterizes the brutal messages behind the concept. Besides, despite a lack of high-cost mixing capacities, it is still a remarkably satisfying thing to hear a nice balance in between all actors: the accurately interacting four- and six-strings, the pungent yet precise drums and percussions, and the necrotizing voices.
In comparison to the former efforts, I think Radical Antihuman Ritual might have evolved towards more belligerent proportions, with a lesser Atmo-Ambient-like sphere. But the core remains tantamount. It’s the ‘taking no prisoners’ mentality that still outvoices.
Just for information: the physical release is a compact-disc (jewel-case format) with an eight-page booklet; the latter coming with the aforementioned artwork (black-and-white photography of mountains and forests) and the cute (how do you mean: ‘that’s cynical’?...) lyrics in English.
Peace, love and big hugs to all of you, my dear sweeties…
https://xaosoblivion.bandcamp.com/album/radical-antihuman-ritual-2
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/xaos-oblivion
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/demonic-slaughter