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Xasthur - All Reflections Drained

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 July 24 2009 at 07:27:16 AM



Xasthur/Malefic/Scott Conner falling within the bottomless pit of public opinion is an image far more unsettling than his latest stab at music. A mere four years ago he was all quid pro quo for SunnO)))’s Black One and then accompanying the aforementioned on an enchanted fairy-dusted tour of selected regions of the globe. The love affair soured between the robed ones and Malefic (for [mostly] undisclosed reasons); they parted ways, and suddenly Xasthur’s music was maligned both in cyberspace and in print (never mind the ever-thin conspiracy theories and tenuous – at best – connections between the Southern Lord Mafia and Disposable Income Nauts’ take on the California sadsack. Turmoil does wonders for inspiration apparently as Conner’s been busy littering the marketplace with unrequited love notes: Three full-lengths, an EP, and three splits since “the breakup.”

The latest, All Reflections Drained, persists with his “ominous” death threat even if the intention of ending one’s life is buried beneath sheer fucking tonnage of computer generated string blah. I gather – maybe – there are two pieces here with lyrics: “Maze of Oppression,” and “Masquerade of Incisions,” the former speaking to life as a cycle of endless rape; the latter building upon “Maze’s” assertion of equating “hope” to a “lie,” and here substituting “hope” for “pride,” and, well, calling it a “lie,” too. The rest of the lyrics resemble spidery but awkward cut-ups from an English-as-a-second-language teen keen on self-disfigurement and shooting neighborhood cats and dogs with a spud gun. Little leap here, but add cloak, makeup, and Vans and we’ve got Malefic. There’s nothing hallucinatory or Lovecraftian or “Post-Burzum” about poorly crafted music. People into self-disfigurement and shooting neighborhood cats and dogs with a spud gun likely have five or six copies of All Reflections Drained – one for every (“failed”) suicide attempt by antacid overdose.

Poncey diatribe contra speed-monkey Cecil Taylor comes to mind here: The anyone-can-do-that bullshit. No way Conner’s going to unleash a Bud Powell via highly fuckin’ caffeinated Franz Liszt bukkake on a Steinway. He’s more inclined to shut-in, diddle about the strings, press record and call it complete. Apparently he’s grown sick of the sound of his own voice. It’s too bad we can’t say the same for his infinitely layered and atonal guitar stylistic. But, hey, I’m not (really) here to call Conner a coose. He’s made a few good records – no shit – and his falling out of favor has more to do with him clogging the shelves with pathetically unformed material and less with the Southern Lord Mafia’s heaping dead horses into his futon every night. The party’s over. Turn out the lights. Tomorrow is another day. I’m sure Wal-Mart is hirin’.

[Stewart Voegtlin]

Xasthur
All Reflections Drained
2009
Hydra Head

type: reviews    keywords: black metal, vans, lhp028, paxil, crybaby, wal-mart, bukkake, shut-in,   

Comments (19)

  • 35 comments
    -c
    12:02 PM on Jul 24, 2009 // reply »
    definitely agree with your 'falling out of favor' comment/rationale. i think it was more coincidental than anything else. imo, his material started to tank with 'subliminal...' and just hasn't bounced back (to be fair, it could have been because i started to get tired of Xasthur in general).

    this new album's atmosphere is rather strong and 'eerie' but it doesn't feel as organic as previous material. and the vocals/whispers/talking/what-the-fuck-ever on this album just destroy it for me.
  • 4 comments
    Craig
    2:55 PM on Jul 24, 2009 // reply »
    Good commentary.

    I think it's hilarious that references to Malefic's Vans-wearing tendencies keep popping up. I hope it continues.

    Also, I've heard that he has a wife and also heard (perhaps on here, though I assumed it false) that he's gay. Confirm/deny? Neither one is very Suicidal BM. Fucking faggot.
  • 35 comments
    Miskatonic
    5:00 PM on Jul 24, 2009 // reply »
    Maybe I need to troll the news sites some more, but I've never heard about this falling out with "the robed ones." You wouldn't happen to have any more info on that?

    I'm completely baffled by dedicated Xasthur fans. My experience with him consists of one album and a couple ods 'n ends. I'm not dying to be exposed to much more than that. I have enjoyed what I've heard and maybe I'll get to more later on. Which records are the good ones?

    Although I'm not dying to hear more, I hate to run the guy out of the industry on a rail. After all, he did contribute a very unique vision to black metal. On the other hand, not much more than his laurels are keeping him in the game. The only way he's changed is by adding his (purportedly) shitty drumming skills and now by largely removing his greatest asset... his voice. Otherwise, experience teaches us to be extremely wary of anything issued by him.


  • 11 comments
    Dustin
    9:47 PM on Jul 24, 2009 // reply »
    Xasthur's problem is like the old saying: "You have our whole life to record your first album, and three months to record your second." I don't know if that's exactly how it's gone down for him, but it's obvious that he started strong and since has just been trying to stay "prolific." If you've heard Nocturnal Poisoning first, you're atuomatically going to see later stuff as rushed toss-offs. I actually thought Defective Epitaph and what I've heard of this appear to be at least an attempt to pick up the pieces and push the quality past self-parody levels, but there's a lot of credibility to be regained, and now you have this "suicidal BM" genre, which owes about as much to xasthur as d-beat does to discharge, but because it's a bedroom hobbyist sort of movement, they end up making better stuff. Funky situation
  • 35 comments
    -c
    10:57 PM on Jul 24, 2009 // reply »
    @Miskatonic the beef is about 3+ years old now, but you can read Malefic's rant here: http://my.opera.com/NorthernVantage/blog/show.dml/370853

    in terms of good albums, obviously it's subjective, but i like Nocturnal Poisoning, The Funeral of Being and Telepathic with the Deceased the best. however, i think his best material is on the Leviathan split LP.
  • 17 comments
    James
    11:08 AM on Jul 25, 2009 // reply »
    Xasthur's "unique vision" equals the song "Musette & Drums" by the Cocteau Twins performed very poorly, rinsed and repeated ad nauseam. Scott's no Elizabeth Fraser however, which is chief among his downfalls in my humble opinion.
  • 35 comments
    Miskatonic
    12:35 PM on Jul 25, 2009 // reply »
    Never heard the Cocteau Twins before. I never figured they played black metal. Who knew? I bet that Elizabeth Fraser has some roar on her... eh?
  • 17 comments
    James
    12:49 AM on Jul 26, 2009 // reply »
    And Xasthur does? Seriously?
  • 1 comment
    Assmonster
    3:09 AM on Jul 26, 2009 // reply »
    Am I mistaken, or has this reviewer gotten sick of xasturs guitar layering? Fuck this shit about his vocals. What has always made this music remarkable was the guitar. Nobody has done what Malefic did with guitars! I agree that his newer stuff isn't on par with the first couple records, but we should give him some credit. There is a sublime quality to the layered guitars. Who cares what the lyrics are about? Does anyone pay attention to lyrics in metal? Great vocals= early Burzum. Nobody approaches that level of sincerity.
    Its fucked that these people talk shit about xasthur and love bone awl! At least they give wrnlrd some respect. Thats where its headed and matters.
  • 35 comments
    Miskatonic
    8:22 AM on Jul 26, 2009 // reply »
    James

    I think Malefic's voice has a couple of qualities which seem at odds with one another: it's wounded and truculent simultaneously. It's almost sympathy inducing, but one would never think to manifest that sympathy for fear of horrible retribution. Kind of like a caged and wounded lion.

    Assmonster

    Yer right about Malefic's guitar sound, as far as I know. Here, the lo-fi recording techniques undeniably add a chilling effect. I'm not sure how he accomplishes it, but I think in addition to the layers, reverb and minor chords are vital ingredients. That said, I've kind gotten sick of his tricks too. There's too many other bands to listen too to devote much more time to Xastur. I still need to check out Wrnlrd and I can't do that if I'm listen to yet another Xasthur record.
  • 11 comments
    Dustin
    10:19 PM on Jul 26, 2009 // reply »
    Sounds like he has a legitimate beef with SL. Doesn't matter to me, I hate doom and I hate that label and their attempted cash-in on black metal. Sunn O))) and all these other improvised "drone" bands which are all just shit like a distorted bass through a delay pedal disgust me. Thousands of people pretend to appreciate their "music" so they can kiss SL's ass. There is nothing to offer here. I'm sure that whatever trends exist after the hipsters get their hands off of Black Metal, Sunn o))) and their ilk will try to "collaborate" with them too. Pathetic.
  • 374 comments
    VOEGTLIN
    9:12 AM on Jul 27, 2009 // reply »
    I'm with chris on the good Xasthur recordings; the split with Leviathan stands way out.

    Quality over quantity. Adhere to that and the guy's output is 80th percentile. Plus, he's got a little "scandal" to up the sales. Genuinely interested in his loss of cred w/ the kids. I'm puzzled and simultaneously amused. Cannot wait to see what happens when they finally commit patricide and through Sunn under the bus.
  • 67 comments
    chauncey chompers
    9:19 AM on Jul 27, 2009 // reply »
    I agree that its silly to shit on Xasthur and champion Bone Awl, especially for saying the artists are repeating themselves.
  • 374 comments
    VOEGTLIN
    9:23 AM on Jul 27, 2009 // reply »
    I did not realize that Bone Awl were so entwined with Xasthur.
  • 1 comment
    Theo
    3:16 PM on Jul 27, 2009 // reply »
    Cocteau Twins is about as heavy as this, guitar wise. And the layering and reverb and so forth reminds me of that kinda gothic stuff too more than metal. Not that theres anything wrong with that.
  • 11 comments
    Dustin
    5:29 PM on Jul 28, 2009 // reply »
    xasth and bone awl seem like apples and oranges to me. regarding their self-reptition however, I'm consistently amazed so far with the disparity Bone Awl shows from release to release, given the simplicity of their formula. and unlike xasthur, they've yet to make an album that sounds as if they've given up and stopped trying.
  • 374 comments
    VOEGTLIN
    7:17 AM on Jul 29, 2009 // reply »
    Yeah, Dustin. They totally are.

    I am referring to "Assmonster's" comment, "Its [sic] fucked that these people talk shit about xasthur and love bone awl!"




  • 11 comments
    dustin
    10:17 AM on Jul 31, 2009 // reply »
    bone awl seems to be getting some hate recently. am i once again on the wrong side of the trend police?
  • 1 comment
    j.a.v.
    4:11 PM on Oct 05, 2009 // reply »
    Malefic should stop playing video games, get a job, and move out of his parents house. Why the fuck is this privileged knucklehead suicidal??
 

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