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I was drawn to this release originally due to the fact that Xenophobia shares members with the exceptional Veil, whose 'Dolor' album spent many a week glued firmly in my CD player. However, rather than just being a rather good representation of Burzum as Veil are, Xenophobia play a particularly dry sounding, buzzing brand of Celtic/Pagan inspired National Socialist black metal (if you couldn't guess that by the band name, you certainly would when hearing that main-man Brian Moudry's pseudonym here is 'Warhead Jewgrinder'), reeking of prime Bilskirnir and Pantheon, with the odd touches of pre-synth Burzum in the guitar sound, or even a slightly more 'pagan' sounding Wigrid.

Taking time to take in the artwork for this album should give you a great idea what to expect aurally, as the first track 'Supremacy and War (Part 1)' kicks things off nicely with an epic acoustic introduction, which builds slowly and ominously into a crescendo of sound, before the fizzing guitars kick in, accompanied by raging sounds of the battlefield and crashing weaponry. It really conjures up images of burly pagan warriors mercilessly slaying their enemies without remorse, to defend the honor of their people and their land. The cover art and booklet are brimming with depictions of pagan symbols throughout, with runes, sunwheels and beautiful natural landscapes truly instilling and strengthening the powerful radical revolutionist views on offer in the music. The vocals throughout the album are desiccated and whispery, adding a wraithlike feel to the overall aura of the album, as if the band have managed to summon the spirits of their ancestors, liberating proud souls from the times of yore, who are satisfied in the knowledge that their children's children are continuing what they began in music form. The rest of the album continues in a similar melancholic and shoe-gazing way until track 4 'Anti-Semite Eternal', which takes a more delicate approach to passing on their message, with floating synths and regimental drumming, interspersed with news sound bites, and extremist documentary clippings.

All in all, with all the dubious politics portrayed behind the music aside, for a debut album, this is pretty damn good, and well worth checking out if you're not offended or off-put by the blatant statements and imagery.