Customer Reviews

Subliminal Genocide

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Subliminal Genocide is another consistant, well crafted release from a respectable underground artist. It bears practically all of the elements Xasthur has previously established himself with and it offers more. More... plain and simple. I personally have no qualms with "more" and Genocide does not rock the boat on the quality front so I see no need to alert the Black Metal "Quality Control Police."

I would think many people into music would have legitimate reason to mildly envy guys like Xasthur, Leviathan, Sapthuran etc. They are able to take the darkest ideas and emotions from the sweet spot of their brains and translate them into physical, transportable plastic disks for others to hear. Angry guys alone in a basement somewhere making angry art and seizing the tools at hand to fine tune and deliver it... all in this awful modern era of George W. Bush. From their complex logos and artwork to the song titles, album intros and liner notes... it's all crafted with attention to detail. It's VERY cool stuff and quite respectable if you ask me. Even that Leviathan album of "demos" offers interesting moments worth investigating... takes me back to when I first discovered SST records / Black Flag as a teen. Something to get excited about... check these guys out.

I will admit that upon listening to the leaked promo of "Subliminal Genocide" I was disappointed with what seemed to be an album full of b-sides from To Violate the Oblivious. When all is said and done, Subliminal Genocide surpasses Xasthur's last two albums. People who are already fans of Xasthur's music will not be disappointed here because Xasthur remains "trve" to his original vision. Of course, if you have heard this band before, then you should know what to expect here -- reverb drenched discordant guitars and processed vocals. It is pretty much impossible to hear what Xasthur is playing with these dreadful mixes. What is different here is that the production is once again muddy and dirty. However, it is still a step above the first three records. In the end, this seems to be the culmination of Xasthur's sound, and quite possibly Malefic's fully realized vision for this band. These songs are bleak and dissonant. It sounds like you are moving through the consciousness of a really messed up, demented person on the verge of (hahaha, you guessed it) committing suicide. The songs play out like a slow moving funeral procession. They start with a raw distorted riff and go through a breakdown and start up once again just when you think the nightmare is over. The riffs are still grim, cacophonic, and dark. They are processed through fuzz, reverb, and whatever else Malefic decides to pile on top. The ominous keryboards are still present, but they are mixed low. The drums on the last Xasthur record were more in your face, but they seem to be buried here.

In the end, this album is grim and dirty. It seems that Malefic is finally starting to get some recognition (possibly due to his appearance on Black 1?). But, this music is still guaranteed to polarize most listeners, so people who are worried about this no longer being "kvlt" should just relax. I don't think you are going to see Xasthur on Ozzy's second stage anytime soon, but of course I could be wrong (if he permanently joins Sunn o))), that is). However, I think that Subliminal Genocide pushes Xasthur's sound to the limit. I would like to see Malefic go into a "completely" different direction on his next release... Because, even though this is another strong offering of trance inducing black metal, there is nothing new here.

Edit (January, 2007):

I have to admit that the more I listen to "Subliminal Genocide" the more I am impressed. This is without a doubt Malefic's best material yet. Sure, Nocturnal Poisoning was a fine album and all, but after listening to Subliminal Genocide over and over again for the past five months, I am only beginning to pick up on the sheer amount of detail and effort that went into this release. Malefic is the Kevin Shields of the black metal world. No doubt.

And for the people who call this "black metal for normals:" Let me ask you this, are there any bands out there that really sound like this? Of course, you could say Manes and Mütiilation but, as far as I am concerned, Malefic has evolved Xasthur into his own distinguished vision over the past couple of years. Subliminal Genocide is a testament to this vision... This IS a strong release. You want "black metal" for normals? Check out Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth. Like I said before, Xasthur has remained true to his original vision. There are no valid reasons to call him a sell out other than the fact that he jumped onto Hydra Head records where, according to Malefic, he could make music without the usual record company hassles. Sure, it is a "hipster" label, but who really cares when the releases are still as strong as this?

The cliche, "you get it or you don't" applies both to this album and Xasthur's music in general. Music for the status quo? I find that hard to swallow.


There are fractal layers of depth to Subliminal Genocide. One layer is a guitar fuzz of incomprehensible droning and repetitive drum machine rhythms. But Malefic tends to record two to four tracks on top of each other, leading to melodies of otherworldly beauty. If you're repulsed or bored by this album, you can shrug it off like most of the black metal Quality Control Legion does. Or you can listen more closely..


As a musician, there is only so much angst and sorrow one can spew forth. How much depressive music can one invoke? Xasthur is unrelenting with expressing the darkest emotions. The novelty in his music is that it seems so un-selfconscious, lacking in pretense. Rather than conjuring up some grandiose image or forcing out emotion, this emanates straight from his soul. The sense of isolation is suffocating. What has become of the modern Western individual? Fragmented, drug-addled, separate from the flux of Nature. A crippled shadow of once great strength and joy. Desparately searching for any bit of sanity or happiness from the array of distractions presented by our great "civilization." Malefic screams not with a single voice; anguish-filled tears of the millions rush forth.



Indeed there is a limit, but at times Xasthur in some way overcomes himself. He briefly loses touch with the physical domain and lifts into an ethereal realm of pure ideas. By reaching into the sheer essence of sorrow, by delving into its utmost extreme, he lifts beyond his painfilled and limited humanity. This music is that bliss.

I just happened to find this CD and decided to give it a try, as the reviews here on Amazon seemed to speak very highly of it. I was amazed at how Malefic (I'm guessing that's the name of the mastermind behind this CD) could create such a totally unique sound. There are elements here of many different ambient bands, but with a much darker outlook than I've seen elsewhere. Sort of imagine an angry and extremely depressed nihilist was mixing sounds in his basement and came out with something that sounds like a cross of Burzum and My Bloody Valentine. That's the basic sound here, and yes, I do think it deserves to be mentioned with both of those bands.

I could speak of the dismal vision of the album and its sound, but another reviewer already summed up what I could say perfectly: contra mundum, indeed. The bottom line is, bands like this deserve far more attention than they get. If you have any appreciation for unique musical styles, or you're one of the few open-minded black metal fans, then you should really pick up this album. It confirms what I've been hearing for a long time, that there's a definite underlying link between black metal and ambient pop/rock experiments like MBV.

Two words can summarize Xasthur's Subliminal Genocide: Contra Mundum.

Every scream is a vitriolic spout of complete frustration, loneliness and contempt against this world. Within Malefic's damning screams is also a incredible sense of powerlessness, self-loathing and suicidal passion. While other black metal groups might express rage and hatred against the ideals of a world where fashion and falsity is more important than truth and reality, where the idiotic and mediocre are celebrated while the intelligent and skeptical are condemned as social parasites - Xasthur's expression of discontent is very personal in nature and has to do with the feeling of suffocation, isolation and desolation in enduring the tedious and cold nature of living in a diseased society.

Subliminal Genocide is a journey into the darkest excesses of the human consciousness. To me it seems Malefic awoke one day (every day) to find himself as a 'monstrous vermin' who must have been abandoned by humanity just as Samsa was. Malefic is Sisyphus fully aware that his life is being spent pushing boulders up hills only to have them roll down again. The sound of Subliminal Genocide is the Metamorphosis of man to vermin, a vermin that is hated, discarded or hunted by the hostile and indifferent culture that surrounds it. The sound you are hearing in this album is the stream of consciousness of that Vermin, of Samsa, of Sisyphus, the existential drama unfolding, the manifestation of fear, confusion and unmatched loneliness. We observe this consciousness when all hope is lost and the only solution to stem the constant feeling of desolation is voluntary death. Subliminal Genocide is a final and bitter reflection on this world, before the plunge into nonexistence inspired by overwhelming strangulation of conformity to mundane and grubby creeds.

Subliminal Genocide plays like an abysmal, melodic funeral march through winter, crafted by discordant guitars and the fading heartbeat of a mechanical drum machine which at times turns into a thunderous, muffled tachycardia. Over this horrible and depressing sound come the agony filled bellows of Malefic in some of the longest and most sorrowful screams you will hear in black metal. Beautiful and memorizing interludes are immediately suffocated by bassy blast beats and fuzzy, overwhelming guitar work. A claustrophobic, terrifying, shamanistic experience, Subliminal Genocide will defiantly raise the heart rate (if not kill you) if listened to properly on high quality speakers in complete darkness.

Within this existential dream, the subliminal genocide, Malefic can exact his callous revenge, but in the real world, he is powerless and alone.

What a long strange trip it's been for Malefic and Xasthur. What's even stranger it seems, is that he ended up finding a new home on the very hip indie label Hydra Head. Sure HH has released its share of dark heaviness, but black metal, especially of the ultra personal, cult and grim kind, is so concerned with staying true, and not selling out. So it's a bit of a coup that HH nabbed Xasthur. Especially after a whole mess of records on Moribund, Total Holocaust Blood Fire Death, Profound Lore and Southern Lord. There has apparently been a bit of a backlash in the true cult BM underground. But f-ck 'em. Hydra Head is a killer label and Malefic probably just got tired of being screwed left and right. Plus, oh what a joy it is to watch the true grim warriors weep at the loss, their corpsepaint smearing in long grey streaks. But it really is their loss more than any one 'cuz damn if this isn't the best Xasthur record since Nocturnal Poisoning. And that's saying a whole lot considering how much we've loved pretty much everything he's ever done.

The thing With Nocturnal Poisoning is that it was this perfect mix of sorrowful melancholia and black buzz, the sound was murky and muddy and fuzzy, but above it, were delicate melodies, dreamlike minor key filigree over a bottomless black pit. It was that strange juxtaposition that made it so special. Take that pretty element away, and you're left with just another black disc of Burzum worship. It's a little like the oil paining on the cover. You could see the texture of the canvas and the individual brushstrokes beneath the art. And with the music, it was the same thing, you could see the various elements, feel their texture, see the thick grainy backdrop upon which Malefic placed all of his dreamlike melodies and murky anguished howls.
Every record after that contained similar elements, and amazing songs, but it seemed like the recordings got more brittle, lots of high end buzz, not so much of that glorious malefic murk.

Subliminal Genocide almost sounds like it was recorded right after Nocturnal Poisoning and shelved for the last few years. It's THAT heavy and dreamy and melancholy and murky and g-ddamn beautiful.

There's not a lot of black metal that you might consider truly beautiful, but the songs on Subliminal Genocide, aren't just blasting thrashing metal, they are gorgeous lilting laments, epic and majestic and minor key. Taken out of a black metal context, they'd sound like some sort of super emotional epic post rock, but as they are, buried under thick layers of blackened buzz and wrapped in huge swaths of fuzzy sonic fog, they become even darker and more desolate, lonely and mournful. Almost none of the record is faster than a loping midtempo, about half the tracks are slow motion dirges, downright doom, with the double kick coming in more as a thick black low end cloud than any sort of actual blast, and a handful of tracks are nothing but swirling whorls of sad black ambience.

And because of the fuzzy indistinct production, and the thick murky halo around every track, lots of Subliminal Genocide sounds like some bastardized black metal version of M83, or Tim Hecker, or a little like Jeck and Marclay spinning old scratched up Burzum lps slowed waaaaaay down.

This record is simultaneously so dark and depressed and utterly evil sounding, but also fuzzy and psychedelic and totally blissed out, it's sort of hard to imagine, especially listening to this right now, that there could ever possibly be a better combination.

This CD is a must buy for any fan of the black metal genre. The atmosphere is absolutely amazing and "Prison of Mirrors" might be one of the best black metal songs ever written. It is dark, moody, foreboding and full of angst and sorrow.

This album is purely amazing. It's filled with some of the most atmospherically depressing black metal I've probably ever heard. The riffs are raw, the vocals are tortured and the sound full of immense pain and suffering. Plus, every song is basically as good as the next. I highly recommend this album to anyone who is a fan of a more raw sounding black metal. It's absolutely great.

Like so many others, I researched Xasthur after being blown away by Malefic's guest vocal on Sunn O)))'s Black One (which Ive also reviewed). A fair amount of time was spent reading and talking with people to start with the Xasthur album that represented his apex.

I've listened to this record regularly now for about six weeks. There isn't really anyone in music with a vocal as singular as Malefic. Its the aural equivelant of a nuclear winter. However, sadly his voice is the only reason to listen to this and there is surprisingly little of it on this album. Its like eating a salad as a template for the dressing.

Somewhere along the way, Malefic was convinced of a songwriting and arranging ability that simply isn't there. Malefic's influence would be expanded drastically by better songs and in a perfect world he would be a permanent member of a band like Sunn O))).

The exception is "Prison Of Mirrors" which moves like a wave of insanity and covers you with its dark ambient inevitability. It really is a marvel and serves to illustrate the larger point as the rest of the material pales in comparison.

I'd like to think I started at the wrong place. All you dark minions of Xasthur familiarity, I am open to trying again but I'm pretty confident this is a performance artist of considerable skill who needs to realize he requires others to write for him.

Decent album... if you like Scotty's brand of black metal "Muzak." To be played at high volume in every elevator and shopping mall in hell. Nocturnal Poisoning is the best work of Xasthur, also one that has not been duplicated in sound or style. ALl his other albums are like this one, in essence.