I don't why so many people like Xasthur but it seems this artist found a place in a lot of different people's collection while doing a kind of black metal that still cuts through any other fake Darkthrone clone with a strong emotion of despair. Is it a miracle created by the convergence of every webzine and magazine to applaud the man behind the noise ? Or are people so much into dark soundscapes these days thanks to the doom and gloom climate of recent years that they need a new kind of music that fits the look of the sky ?A little bit of everything I think and anyway the result is here and there is no need to understand why this or that artist received so much attention. The public's taste changes so often that to try to duplicate the success of Xasthur by following the same footsteps would be vain and miss what also makes this one man band an interesting creator of dark and slow music, his honesty. Oh yeah, sure, the guy puts out an album maybe every year and it would be easy to claim he is just trying to cash in on his success by flowing the market without any notion of quality control. But the problem is the quality is there. The albums are quite good even if they don't present a big evolution each time, there are hints of new ideas to make every record stand on its own rather than a piece of a large puzzle. Xasthur is not meant to be an artist that everyone agrees on. Is it a new parody ? Is Xasthur worthy of all the praises ? And why am I typing this article ? Well simply because I like the guy's music and though I should talk about him a little bit. What I like the most about Xasthur's music is that you can still listen to it without being sad or in a particulary dark mood. Even if the emotion doesn't strike a chord within you, there is still layers of sound to discover and to enjoy. The guitar sound is not particulary heavy but rather flows like the wind, buring the screams behind a thick wall of noise. The slow tempo of the artificial drums complement nicely the guitar by providing the little push that the song needs without overpowering them. A soft melody hide behind the distorsion and underline the mood and gives Xasthur the final but essential touch and that is maybe what creates the appeal. Xasthur is music for people who are willing to listen. Take your time and you will be rewarded with a nice batch of songs that have nothing in common with pop music but that you will still carry in the back of your head.
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