Haxprocess: Four Tracks, 45 Minutes of Death Metal Perfection

I’ll admit two things right off the bat here;

1. When I first grabbed this album for review I thought it was an EP, I almost didn’t add it to my reviews list.
2. After realizing it wasn’t an EP but 4 tracks that were over 45 minutes long, I almost didn’t add it to my reviews list.

Two errors I probably could have forgiven myself for — but am happy that I don’t have to.

The album, Beyond What Eyes Can See, is being released on July 24 through Transcending Obscurity. Haxprocess have created what I can only describe as an epic soundscape. This isn’t just another death metal album – it’s a masterclass in atmospheric composition that rivals the genre’s most ambitious works. This album is filled with ups and downs, layering that, even after nearly a dozen listens, I’m still finding myself hearing new sounds, and sections of music that you can’t help but pause, roll back and listen to over again to catch everything they’ve put in.

The release notes mention ‘It’s like Morbid Angel covering Chasm songs under the influence of Blood Incantation’ and this description is absolutely perfect. It captures exactly what makes this album so compelling.

Don’t let the 4-track, 45-minute runtime fool you – this is death metal at its most cinematic and immersive. While it is only 4 songs, they have built them in a way that makes each song feel as though you are being taken through multiple chapters, while still feeling cohesive across the entire track. I am in awe of the composition of each track.

The opening track, Where Even Stars Die, starts with a brief mellow, atmospheric, clean guitar riff that quickly gains distortion. While the opening section is short, the entire song builds. Layer upon stunning layer. There is a section where the lead guitar solo, something you would normally expect to take the foreground, is left more in the background while panning from left to right, adding another dimension to the experience. This added layer of production provides an almost surround sound feeling, as though the band is in the room with you playing to a solo live audience. You become a part of the experience of the album, a participant rather than just a mere listener. There are sections of layered vocals which add even more depth to the track. The pacing is all over the place, however not in a chaotic full on jazz sort of way, it’s more subdued than that, yet somehow still disorienting at parts. These parts don’t last long enough for them to be uncomfortable. Like the death of a star, this track starts out with the power of a white dwarf and builds to an explosive crescendo.

Moving into The Confines of the Flesh – we have zero confinement to the music here. The opening of this track presents an unrelenting assault of mimicry between the vocals and the alternate picking. While I can’t say with certainty the meaning behind the title of the track, for me there’s a feeling of relating the name of the track to the turbulent time signature changes throughout, with the feeling of being stuck in one’s body. A feeling of knowing you were meant for something greater, but limited by the restraints of the flesh you reside in. While the track is constructed with multiple picking techniques, voices, and varied cadence it still feels like a single track rather than 3 songs pieced together.

While I could go on describing the other 2 tracks on this album I want to leave a little to the imagination. You can hear the first two tracks already on major streaming platforms, but will have to wait until July 25 for the others to be released.

The production quality here sets a new standard for atmospheric death metal. There is layering that can be heard in such a way that it creates a new experience with every listen. It’s almost like a new album each time you play it. While there are sections where the rhythm guitars are a touch louder than the other instruments, I feel as though this was done with intention — almost like the dialogue in Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, an intentional choice designed to create a specific immersive experience. There are sections of this album that are dark, sections that are bright and harmonizing, and others yet that are so frantic you almost feel like the music is going to crush you in your seat – yet through all of this it’s perfectly balanced.

Haxprocess have created what can only be described as a perfect melodic death metal masterpiece – essential listening for anyone who thinks the genre has nothing left to offer.