Rwake Announce Official Release of Debut Demo, Teach Me a New Word

What the sweet fucking fuckity fuck does “xenoglossalgia” mean? Obviously the “xeno” prefix is quite common, but beyond that, I’m pretty much stumped. To Wikipedia!

Xenoglossy (/ˈziːnɵɡlɒsi/ or /ˈzɛnɵɡlɒsi/), also written xenoglossia (/ziːnɵˈɡlɒsiə/ or /zɛnɵˈɡlɒsiə/), is the putative paranormal phenomenon in which a person is able to speak or write a language he or she could not have acquired by natural means. The words derive from Greek ξένος (xenos), “foreigner” and γλῶσσα (glōssa), “tongue” or “language”. The term xenoglossy was ostensibly coined by French parapsychologist Charles Richet. Stories of xenoglossy are found in the Bible, and contemporary claims of xenoglossy have been made by parapsychologists and reincarnation researchers such as Ian Stevenson. There is no scientific evidence that xenoglossy is a real phenomenon.

So, basically, speaking in tongues. Interesting! I love learning new words.

Thus, I must tip my hat to Rwake, who not only remain insanely awesome, but who provided me with this vocab lesson via the announcement that they’ll be giving their 1998 demo, Xenoglossalgia: The Last Stage of Awareness, a remastered re-release via Relapse on February 10. I’ve never heard Xenoglossalgia, which makes sense, given that the demo was never distributed outside of the band’s hometown. So while this isn’t quite as good a brand new Rwake album, it’s still basically as good as new Rwake album!

You can stream a sample of the track “Calibos/So Fucking Tired” below (it’s just a sample because while the demo features just eight cuts, it clocks in at over an hour, in typical Rwake/doom metal fashion). It’s definitely not quite the Rwake we all know and love today, but there are also certainly traces of the Rwake we know and love today. It’s always interesting to hear how a band develops over the years. After you’ve listened to the sample, you should go here to pre-order Xenoglossalgia: The Last Stage of Awareness. According to the press release, “The limited edition LPs and CDs will come packaged in an insane 3D cover complete with 3D glasses,” which, as far as silly gimmicks intended to get you to purchase physical media go, is pretty damn good.