With the release of their new EP, The Machine Demands Blood, last month, xapothecaryx find themselves once again at the forefront of a vanguard of killer straight edge bands that are tearing things up in the UK at the moment - in this London outfit’s case with a vicious dose of veganism thrown in for good measure.
Building on the momentum of their 2023 debut EP, Purity of Flesh, S(p)oiled by Greed, and the singles and promos that preceded it, The Machine… is surely their most accomplished released yet, complete with a load of guest features from members of A Mourning Star, Not Without Punishment, Iron Deficiency, and Street Justice.
I spoke with xapothecaryx vocalist Jordan to get the lowdown.
What was the process like for how The Machine Demands Blood came together?
Ever since Purity of Flesh had released, we had been writing new material, we had recorded three demos in the Summer of 2023 and one of those tracks appeared on A HOMELAND DENIED: A Compilation for the Palestinian Liberation. Since then we reworked a couple of the tracks and wrote some more which ultimately became The Machine Demands Blood.
Lyrically, I knew what themes I wanted to write about, but some drafts of mine fell short of what I felt was worthy of being recorded so that needed some reworking too. But we're happy with the final outcome.
How did you feel about the response to Purity of Flesh? Did that create any pressure or specific expectations for you?
The response was great, all the responses to our releases have been great. We never really thought that our music would travel as globally as it has done, and we're forever grateful for that. We've been given so many incredible opportunities and played shows in countries that we never thought of visiting.
I can't talk for the other guys, but I've personally never felt pressure or any specific expectations with our art. Just that I have a message that I want to convey and spread, and I'm happy to have the opportunity to do that. The only pressure I feel is the pressure that I put on myself, I'm a perfectionist and it is more of a blessing than a curse.
Could you elaborate on the themes of The Machine Demands Blood?
The Machine Demands Blood involves themes of genocide, animal experimentation, high society, the slaughterhouse, and addiction. It was important to me that each song have a different theme and a different purpose.
To keep it brief, "The Machine Demands Blood" is about the ongoing genocide happening in Gaza and the West Bank, the title itself is taken from the will of Aaran Bushnell, the American Airforce serviceman who self-immolated in protest of the West’s assistance in the genocide of the Palestinian people. ‘But the machine demands blood. None of this is fair.’
“Xenograft” is about animal experimentation. I originally read about the term ‘xenotransplant’ in an article referring to an operation in which a pigs’ kidney was used to replace a human male’s kidney. Of course, the body rejected the animal’s kidney, and both involved died.
“Empyrean” is the higher echelon of heaven, the top of divinity. This is a metaphor for the 1% in our world, the wealthiest people, those that are considered royalty, and those that are so well connected that they can stay hidden from society. This is how they view themselves, as untouchable and perfection. ‘Eviscerate the empyrean’ refers to how we should take justice into our own hands and remove these people from our society.
“Putridity” is written from the perspective of an animal in the slaughterhouse. How they are taken from their family, and subject to torture as their lives are taken for the greed of humanity. “Laid Riven” is about addiction. To be laid riven is to stay divided, and this divide is between those with an addiction and those without. The grace of god lays divided between people, some are able to overcome addiction yet others are drawn to it.
Were there any specific influences that you leaned into for this EP in particular?
I can't talk for the instruments themselves as that is Dan’s domain. But for the lyrics I draw influences from a lot of bands, namely Morning Again, Contention, and From the Dying Sky. These are amongst my favourite bands, also including Skycamefalling, xElegyx, and Balmora.
Was there anything you especially wanted to do differently compared to the last one?
We wanted to up the ante and show our progression as a band. Since Purity we have extended the band by two members, and grown a lot as people and musicians. Purity was very much written in our infancy, we were just finding our feet and experimenting with our sound. The Machine Demands Blood shows a much more refinement in our sound, and a hint to where we want to be.
What was it like playing in Europe last year?
Playing Europe was incredible, it was my first mainland tour and it went off without a hitch. It was a really smooth experience, and we got to visit some incredible places and meet some incredible people.
The European scene is unmatched in terms of hospitality, passion and positivity. It is always such a pleasure to go out there and play shows, the crowd are always there for a good time and it seems the vegan straight edge scene is much larger than it is in the UK.
How do you feel about the state of UK Hardcore and specifically UK Straight Edge in 2025?
It's very strong at the moment, lots of new bands popping up all over the place, lots of new promoters too. All doing their bit to put themselves on the map which is great, lots of new kids rolling through to shows too.
There are some active straight edge bands which is always good to see, definitely need some more vegan edge bands as we are currently the only active one in the UK scene. UK edge bands to check out are: Supernova, Hour of Reprisal, Cannonball, Accusation, Dambuster, and Mortal Spirit.
It seems that "classic" metalcore and metallic hardcore is really making a bit of a comeback at the moment. What do you think has caused/inspired that?
Not really sure, it's always been my favourite subgenre of hardcore. I guess these things come in waves, like people are really fucking with it now and then eventually they'll move onto the next thing. I'm all for it though, I love metalcore.
What are your hopes and plans for the future of the band?
We’ll see where this release takes us, but we’ve already got a lot booked for the rest of 2025 and some other stuff in the pipeline. I can see a full-length on the horizon, and I still have so much more to shout about.
Here’s to the Vegan Straight Edge and being good to each other whilst stamping out the oppressor.
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The Machine Demands Blood is available now via Betrayed By Life Records.
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