Pic by Rolf Meldgaard
Danish avant metal trio Oxx have a lot to offer in a mere 2:36 on their latest single, “The Hypostasis.” The track is a crosscut between sludgy lumberings and manic riffing that feels both mathy and chaotic. It’s a helluva ride, punctuated by enraged vocals and a rhythm section that feels like it’s been given the unenviable task of making sense of complete madness. Clearly these Danes—Alex Bossen (guitar/vocals/lyrics), Martin Aagard (drums), Anders Frodo S. Mikkelsen (bass)—are on some sort of wavelength, because what should sound like a sonic train wreck has a sort of unexpected cohesiveness to it.
The track appears on Oxx’s fourth effort, The Primordial Blues, which was recorded by the band, mixed by Klaus Q Hedegaard Nielsen and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Obituary, Full Of Hell, Eyes). The album is set for release on August 18 on CD, cassette and digitally via Nefarious Industries. Find preorder options and more here.
This is what Alex Bossen had to say about the track:
“Explaining ‘The Hypostasis’ is pretty cut and dry. The song is a fairly overt attempt at synthesizing aesthetics or tricks employed by a couple of our favorite artists and dumbing it down into a bunch of big stupid riffs.
The shadow of French guitarist/composer Marc Ducret looms large throughout the record, and nowhere more so than on this one. More than anything, the song is an attempt at translating some of his very specific approaches to tempo and meter, into sludgy brutality. ‘The Hypostasis’ is a continuous stretching and shortening of riffs using different subdivisions, reversing and cutting up lines and twisting motifs beyond recognition.
Additionally, a couple of sections and transitions are very obviously inspired by some of the Alchemist-produced tracks off of Sean Price’s phenomenal Mic Tyson. See if you can pick them out amidst the incessant riffage. The song is about some sad shit, and anybody interested in wallowing in that stuff can delve into the lyrics when they release. But why would you? It’s a pretty banging track, so have some fun with it instead.”
