Xasthur/Leviathan

This split from two of the newest wave of black metal was originally released on LP two years ago. It quickly sold out but thankfully has been reissued with four extra tracks. Both Malefic and Wrest’s status have grown immensely since the original release thanks to their recent collaborations with Sunn O))) and demand for their own work has increased accordingly. Although neither artist sounds remotely like Sunn O))), both have far more in common with Norwegians who hang around churches with Zippos.

Battle Kommand
 
The first seven tracks are devoted to Malefic’s Xasthur. I loved his vocals with Sunn O))) but here they don’t sound as powerful as they get a little lost in the guitar noise and blast beats. Still, the songs are heavy and reeking of menace. The tracks from the original release are good but for me the three bonus tracks are the most interesting. The instrumental “Achieve Emptiness” is a moody keyboard piece that has the potential to burst into something amazing but Malefic just seems to abandon it at the end which is a shame. My disappointment was soon obliterated with the mighty “Telepathic with the Deceased” which absolutely slays. The vocals are extraordinary and the guitars have more beef to them than on other tracks. What makes it more impressive is the fact that it is a rehearsal recording, not a finished piece. Xasthur finish off in style with a Katatonia cover and leaving Leviathan with a lot to live up to.

I found that Leviathan didn’t quite manage to reach the intensity that Xasthur achieved. In fact, even as far as Leviathan material goes, this isn’t the strongest set of songs that Wrest has written. “The Remotest Cipher” is the best of the three tracks present on the CD, in particular the last three minutes or so of it when the synth comes to the front really floated my boat. The album finishes on a bit of an anticlimax with Leviathan covering Judas Iscariot’s “Where the Winter Beats Incessant.” Wrest musically doesn’t capture the darkness of the original, there’s something lacking. At least the vocals sound like he’s choking on something unpleasant (which is a good thing).

This split album is a fine entry point to both artists' work, but, aside from one or two tracks, doesn’t represent the best work of either of them. However I’m hoping that the increased interest in black metal will result in more hard to find releases getting a reissue like this so I can fill the holes in my collection.

samples:

• Xasthur - Conjuration of Terror
• Xasthur - Telepathic with the Deceased
• Leviathan - The Remotest Cipher