Sex Messiah “Sexus Mortem, Ouroboros” LP Coming Soon

COMING SOON!

Sex Messiah “Sexus Mortem, Ouroboros” LP
ANTI-GOTH 751

(Description by J. Campbell)
With 16 years of history behind the name, Sex Messiah have long established themselves as
stalwarts of the Japanese extreme metal underground. But in terms of sound and lineup, the
Sex Messiah of today bears increasingly little resemblance to the one that emerged in 2008.
Founded by Osaka-based guitarist Moenos, the band operated as a four-piece for its first
decade of existence, albeit with unstable membership. Through the years, Moenos’s vision
came into focus, and to realize it she had to assume greater control over the band, which
meant stripping it to its essentials. Since the 2021 release of the “Secret Initiations” demo, Sex
Messiah has consisted of just Moenos on guitar, bass, vocals, and electronics, and Bolivian
expatriate Abaddrums “Sexxx” Grinder on drums. Though unconventional, the arrangement has
proven to be a potent one, especially as they have recently played shows across Asia, Europe,
and North America, which has only strengthened the remarkable chemistry between them.
With this new album, “Sexus Mortem, Ouroboros,” released on Moenos’s Sex Desire label, Sex
Messiah have fully found their identity. This is the first full-length album Sex Messiah have
released with this lineup, and it is incontestably the band’s best work to date. Their most
obvious influences come from the South American black/death scene from the 1980s and 90s,
particularly the Brazilian bands. And while Sex Messiah’s approach is undeniably studied and
authentic—their longstanding relationships with bands like Impurity and
Holocausto/Tormentador are a testament to the band’s stylistic integrity—it is also nuanced
and characterized by less overt points of reference. Through the years, Moenos has refined her
compositional approach, conjuring an atmosphere of depravity and violence with her harsh riffs
and vocals. As with other recent releases, the lyrics were written in Spanish by Sexx Grinder,
further reinforcing the band’s South American sensibilities. However, these songs retain a
Japanese nature that serves to distinguish Sex Messiah from their predecessors. Though
inspired by the manic chaos of the Cogumelo artists, Moenos’s obsessive focus on composition
allows for greater dimension and control, and for the influx of new ideas. As with previous Sex
Messiah recordings, “Sexus Mortem, Ouroboros” contains intros and outros that reflect
Moenos’s deep appreciation for noise and industrial music, and there are nods to Japanese
psychedelia buried within the visceral bestiality of the tracks. The artwork for “Sexus Mortem,
Ouroboros,” created by an artist named 072—Moenos’s bandmate in her other band, Immortal
Death—perfectly captures with imagery the current of crude blasphemic carnality that defines
the music.

ETA: May 2025