I’ve got a review of the newish Xasthur album up at metropulse. The first paragraph is one of the better things I’ve written for them, in my opinion anyway:
For centuries, scholars believed that metalness was a straight continuum, with bands like Slayer at the top end and performers like, oh, say, Debussy at the bottom. In recent years, though, researchers have discovered that the truth is somewhat different. Beyond St. Vitus, beyond Celtic Frost, out where the black dooms drone, we now know metal curves, and like a wily ourobourous, takes its tail in its teeth only to discover it’s chomping on the smiling visage of Danny Elfman.
I like the album. I actually like that it's not as visceral as his earlier works. I can't withstand that sort of thing very often. This album, just like a lot of soundtracks that I like, seems to allow the listener to marinate in it. It seeps in. It's far less needy about being listened to, far less urgent.
But I think he's run out of things to prove, which is death if you're a part of a revolutionary movement, like "True Black Metal". I don't think it is black metal anymore for that same reason.Not sure if Malefic is ready to make a clean break though, so there's some confusion there.
I'm hoping he moves further in the direction he's going and lets BM go as much as possible
That's fair enough. I just found it a little boring. Moving away from black metal towards something more ambient might be a good choice; I can see that.