Xasthur / Leviathan

This split release couldn’t offer a better match up, bringing together two of America’s most intriguing contributors to the black metal underground. The Xasthur/Leviathan split first emerged from the sepulchral depths in 2004 on vinyl, but the CD reissue adds a few bonuses to the initial track listing, including a Katatonia and a Judas Iscariot cover. Funereal atmospheres reign supreme throughout most of the record (murky swells and dirge-y waves) and though it maintains its fuzzy darkness to the end, eruptions of melody and faster paced rhythms break out here and there to unsettle the near-comfort of the album’s enveloping textures — of the two parts, the Leviathan section is comparatively riff-reliant. While not the best driving music (it’s far too hypnotic and fatalistic), the record’s otherworldly ambience could support some sombre meditation or despondent wallowing or perhaps just some austere appreciation.