XASTHUR's 2009 full-length "All Reflections Drained" is still firmly based on a black metal foundation of the band's earlier works although this phase came to a preliminary close only a year later. At the time, this album was originally released under the name NOCTURNAL POISONING, but it was later added by the artist to the canon of his prime band and redesignated accordingly. The (according to the new count) seventh XASTHUR full-length can be heard as the soundtrack to a bleak fairytale of broken hearts and sinister horrors. This symphony of abomination and misery emphasises the cinematic aspects of black metal where dark emotions turn into images of the mind. The characteristic lo-fi fog of XASTHUR's sound is deliberately designed and backed by years of experience. "All Reflections Drained" will be released on vinyl for the first time. XASTHUR were originally conceived by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Scott Conner in California, USA in the year 1995. The project started out in the vein of bleak black metal in the tradition of the Nordic second wave. Over the course of nine albums and a host of split-singles, EPs, and occasional demos, XASTHUR's individual, particularly depressive style became highly regarded within the extreme genre. In 2010, Scott announced the end of XASTHUR and returned with an acoustic dark folk project under the banner of NOCTURNAL POISONING. In 2015, the American artist returned to the name XASTHUR, but insisted that his black metal days were over. With their latest full-length "Inevitably Dark", XASTHUR have partly lifted the self-imposed ban on black metal, simply because Conner felt like it and therefore did it.
Tracklist:
01. Dirge Forsaken
02. Maze Of Oppression
03. Achieve Emptiness Part II
04. Masquerade Of Incisions
05. Damage Your Soul
06. Inner Sanctum Surveillance
07. Obfuscated In Oblivion
08. All Reflections Drained
09. Sear Me III
2LP Gatefold (silver/blue marble vinyl), padded inner sleeves and protection sleeve (400 copies available)
