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21-09-2007
Xasthur- Leviathan split (reissue)
Review by ©Scarlet Metal & www.whoresofchaos.com

Out of pleasant dreamscapes and 'Into the Eerie Bliss And Torture' (Of Solitude) go the foes..as a sacrifice to the scarlet eyed Xastur. A torturous ultra layered atmosphere of extracted life force imprisoned..likened to the excruciating existence of cold plasma trapped in plexiglass.
Malefic's vox is bearly anthropomorphous below a slow and agonizing waltzing march of
death..spirit captured in black ambience. The 'Keeper Of Sharpened Blades' (And Ominous Fates)
is evoked by incantations under a cacophony of a dissonant swirling mist. Paralyzed with eyes wide open, spinning blades descend upon them in a neverending nightmare. The great mirrors of the four corners are lowered as the 'Conjuration Of Terror' commences in a pounding frenzy. Incapable of escaping the surreal reflections of themselves now carved down to bone, they pray in vain for a death that will seemingly never come. As eerie gothic synths ooze into the hall, they are finally able to
'Achieve Emptiness'. The howling nightmare begins again by the desperate longing to be
'Telepathic With The Deceased'. As the winds die down so do 'the lost'..ethereally drifting
on to their 'Palace Of Frost'.

American Scott Conner a.k.a. Malefic is the misanthropic mastermind and prolific musician behind Xasthur: the one man ambient black metal band formed in 1995. Malefic's lyrics are focused on astral projection, darkness, death, suicide, hate and despair as opposed to the usual black metal emphasis on
heathenism, Satanism and/or anti-Christian blasphemy. The band name 'Xasthur'is said by the artist to have been derived from 'Xastur' and 'Xenaoth'. Malefichas explained in interviews of past that he found the name 'Xastur' in a paperback version of the Necronomicon in which it was referred to as "a demoness who kills people in their sleep."..whereas 'Xenaoth' refers to a celestial deity from a book
he read on the Afro-Caribbean religion Santería. Originally 'Xasthuriath' was almost used, then was later shortened to 'Xasthur'. During an interview with Pitchfork Media, Malefic stated that he "will always keep Xasthur a band that will not play live."However, Malefic has appeared 'live' onstage while joining Sunn O))) as well as the black metal band Nachtmystium. With regard to interviews, he announced that
his "last" was with Kory Grow (2007).
 
The tracks of the Xasthur/Leviathan split (2004) were proclaimed by many as being "the best black metal split of the year" in addition to being some of  Malefic's and Wrest's finest work. Due to high demand, this split was later  reissued by Battle Kommand: www.battlekommand.com . Xasthur Releases of 2007 include: the Striborg/Xasthur Split, the Cryostasium/Xasthur Split and the full length 'Defective Epitaph'. Xasthur is often compared to Burzum, the influence is certainly there but the atmosphere created is "chilling" in quite a different way on this split, with Malefic's vox being that of a cold and calculating 'killing machine' as opposed to the 'elven' human hating quality of Varg Vikerne's vocals.
 
Official myspace: http://www.myspace.com/xasthurwithin
Battle Kommand Records: http://www.battlekommand.com

Leviathan:
A harrowing journey through the cold black inner corridors of a dark psyche.
Lured into a maelstrom of lashing winds and shattered crystallized illusions
that tear and rip unforgivingly through gown and flesh. With one step off the
razor's edge begins the 'Unfailing Fall Into Naught' in a release of exquisite
futile screams of a death denied. The Remotest Cipher (Beside The Last
Breath Vanished) is written on the winds of the abyss 'Where The Winter
Beats Incessant'.
 
Wrest a.k.a. Jeff Whitehead is the singular genius behind the American
black metal bands Leviathan and Lurker of Chalice. Within these three
tracks lie some of the darkest atmospherical wizardry ever created.
The mysterious spiralling undertow of this music is a deadly black force.
Superior sound is created by suffusing hauntingly murky hues over an
otherworldly arcane layering of instrumentation.

http://www.tumult.net/catalog/leviathan.html
http://www.myspace.com/leviathanx666x 

Xasthur tracks:
1. Eerie Bliss And Torture (Of Solitude)
2. Keeper Of Sharpened Blades (And Ominous Fates)
3. Conjuration Of Terror
4. Instrumental
5. Achieve Emptiness
6. Telepathic With The Deceased
7. Palace Of Frost (Katatonia cover)

Leviathan tracks:
 8. Unfailing Fall Into Naught
 9. The Remotest Cipher (Beside The Last Breath Vanished)
10. Where The Winter Beats Incessant (Judas Iscariot cover)