Artist: Xexyz
Album: Gamera
Release Date: December 16th 2022
Genres: Black Metal, Chiptune (NES-BM)
Formats: CD and Digital
Label: Super Sargasso
Location: Illinois, USA
Length: 30:09
Price: $10 (CD)
Listen to Gamera and follow Xexyz below:
Xexyz Links
Super Sargasso Links
Tracklist
- Blocking the Sun (03:26)
- King Gamera (02:59)
- Destroy All Cities (03:51)
- Worship Him (04:00)
- Mountain of Blood (03:26)
- UFO (02:58)
- Turtle of Hate (03:18)
- Satan Apollo (03:12)
- Only I Can See Your Face (02:59)
Album Credits
J.R Preston: Guitar, synth, SNES, bass, vocals
Scott Michaels: Drums programming, Game Boy
Artwork: Jeff Zornow
A Message From The Artist
Years ago, I was listening to a Dimmu Borgir album and like a bolt of lightning, I was struck with a bizarre idea: “What if a symphonic black metal band used a Nintendo Entertainment System for a keyboard player?” The idea festered for years and I imagined a corpsepainted, Dark Funeral looking band, clad in leather and cloaks, backed by an NES, complete with a robe, candelabra, and blood, standing in as the keyboardist.
A video game console possessed by Satan! Old games were more Satanic, anyway, and it doesn’t get more Satanic than the Famicom/NES. One night I decided I had to do it since no one else was going to. I recorded “Primeval Mountain” in 2005 under the name Xexyz.
Today, there are other bands and musicians using this name, but I believe I was the first to get signed and put out an album. The album sold out, fast. It even got reissued by 2006 (two times!). I couldn’t get a proper band together, so I figured the album’s out, it’s finished. I created the genre NESBM and that is exactly what I set out to do.
So for the next ten years, I consistently bombarded myself with the idea of a Xexyz Zelda themed record. In 2016 I recorded it: “Death Mountain” and firmly cemented my place as not only the creator of NES-BM…but also the sole artist in the genre (laugh).
Fast forward to 2020. Everyone knows the deal. I had time to do what I had been thinking about doing: Another Xexyz concept album, but this time centered on the Game Boy and Super Famicom GAMERA games. I wrote the songs, and they were too fast and crazy for me to play drums on so I got Scott Michaels (guitarist from Virgin Idol). He’s another huge Gamera fan, and he programmed the drum parts.
I created my own soundtrack with synths and keyboard for both Gamera games instead of using the game music after running into a tad bit of a rights issue when streaming “Death Mountain” (the Zelda release).
This soundtrack with black metal band accompaniment is what you are hearing on “Gamera.” I believe it to be the absolute, ultimate, best album in the history of NESBM.J.R Preston
More About the Album
Gamera is a truly unique offering of black metal that seamlessly blends multiple varied genres and influences. While there may be other projects that use chiptune in their sound, none do so in the same way as Xexyz.
The project maintains the integrity and essence of symphonic black metal but swaps out keyboard elements for various Nintendo consoles. More so than that, they work in old school blackened speed metal elements and classic heavy metal style vocals. The result of this union of ideas is an album that’s unlike anything you’ve heard before.
The concept behind the album is also worthy of praise, never before have I seen a concept album dedicated to the worship of Gamera expressed through the medium of black metal and Nintendo consoles.
Its immediately obvious that the album has been well thought out and developed prior to recording and release. It serves as a perfect follow up to the project’s previous release Death Mountain and shows a clear evolution of their sound. So, embark on an adventure into the digital realm and bend the knee to your new Kaiju overlord.
Cave Dweller Productions 