BLACK HOLE DEITY is an American death metal band from the state of Alabama. They are a newcomer to the scene, having formed in 2019. "Lair Of Xenolich," is their debut EP for underground label champions Everlasting Spew Records. With five tracks and a runtime of just 16 minutes, this EP is short but very furious ride. The band is new but the players are veterans of the scene (Fear Factory and Calcemia, just to name a couple) and it shows through their tight performances.  The crystal clear production helps make each individual instrument standout. It could be argued the production is too clean for such a pummeling EP but it's hard to complain too much about it because the guitar tone is great and the drums sound so clean and crisp despite their seemingly perpetual fury.

Also the bass frickin SLAPS. This is the play style of bass that begs to be heard and not covered up by muddy mixing. And how about those guitar solos?  They sound very different from the brutality that surrounds them so they keep the songs exciting and refreshing.There are some ideas that stood out to me that I think the band would do well to incorporate into their music more as it would expand their sound.  "Hypersleep Dementia," features  moving and melodic clean guitar coupled with violin. It is a great little interlude that bridges the EPs four tracks together.

"Razor Earth Edict," is like a rocket blast that never runs out of fuel. A flurry of drums ramps the song into perpetual motion. The guitars shred through the atmosphere with moments of groove here and there. The bass pops in and out of this boiling sea as the drums hold the foundation even tho they have the power to tear things apart. The vocals are deep death growls that are still intelligible but sound menacing as hell.The next track "Railgun Combat," is pure death metal fury-the opening moments almost made my head spin. The middle portion is broken up by a unique guitar solo that is wild but with purpose.  After it ends, the bass and drums kick the song further down the rabbit hole with a crazy duel.

An inhuman death scream at 2:39 kicks the song into an even higher gear for what will surely go down as one of the most uncompromising moments of in death metal 2021. The aforementioned "Hypersleep Dementia," is up next and is a good breather for "Multiverse Incantations," which is possibly the best and heaviest song here. The opening riffs are truly jarring, the audio equivalent of an earthquake that rocks your core. The song just never let's up, it's only goal is to leave the listener a melted puddle of good by the time the end arrives. The machine gun double bass goes a long way to help achieve this effect as do the later riffs that seem to bend the air around them.

The title track ends the album just as it began: wide open death metal with a clear vision of throat ripping destinies. I loved how fast and aggressive the vocals are here, almost machine the cadence of the double bass.  The riffs behind the solo are crazy and keep the song's restless flow. Black Hole Deity's "Lair Of Xenolich" slays just enough to be satisfying but leaves me begging for more. I absolutely look forward to a full length.