Nortt/Xasthur

This is an excellent pairing of two very dark, black metal bands. Note this isn’t typical of really any permutation of B.M. out there these days unless you have a grip on enticing oddities as “black doom” and “suicidal black metal”. Denmark’s Nortt makes fuzzy, ultra-slow & bleak, monotonous doom. Whereas Southern California’s Xasthur creates 3 fantastic pieces that stray away a bit from metal but never escape the blackness. Shoegazer sounds for evil people.

Nortt – (Note: all lyrics & titles are Danish)

((((((1)))))) Minimalist, sad piano mixing with layers of guitar fuzz. Very similar to Skepticism.
((((((2))))) More slow-mo grimness. Very spacious & slowing buring inside. Great use of note resonation.
(((((3))))) Plodding & hateful black doom. Slowing down the slowest Darkthrone song to
12 ½ RPM. Uneasy listening-par excellénce!
((((((4))))) Awesome dark ambient ‘ala Cold Meat Industries label.

Xasthur – Creepy, weird BM from L.A.

(((((5))))) Murky, abysmal (in a good way), repetitive guitar fuzz & sad minor chords Something like My Bloody Valentine gone to Hades.
((((6)))) Trademark Xasthur sound: howling vocals, claustrophobic bass + some (subconscious?) influence from Swans & Godflesh.
(((((7))))) Very sullen, enshadowed, cycling chords mixed with hazy distortion. Later gets kind of dark ambient. Very dream like & dare I say “pretty”?