3 out of 5

Label: Hydra Head

Produced by: ?

This feels / sounds amazing… I just wish I could differentiate more between the material. Black metal is already pretty monolithic to me, requiring groups that are outside of the genre “norms” for my ears to really appreciate it, and Xasthur has certainly been amongst those outsiders, adding a certain extra level of malevolence and relentlessness to the howling / poor recording / tons of reverb equation. Still, the sound remains somewhat hard for me to penetrate; on a previous go-round with Xasthur and Hydra Head, the relative monotonousness of the compositions, mixed with a somewhat unfinished vibe, really made it difficult to connect with, while still acknowledging that the general mood and sound were up my alley.

All Reflections Drained is even closer to getting over the mark, stepping up the production values (relative to the scene) and adding in even more flourish – some synths, extra vocals – that help to bring in more dynamism to, again, what I acknowledge are the “hallmarks” of the genre. And if every song on this set was at the level of, by my ears, its best – there are a few that really stand out, but Inner Sanctum Surveillance is my choice – then this would be the album to finally unlock the black metal sound for me. But: while extending and deepening his echoe-y dirges into 5+ minute ambient nigh-instrumentals, putting ‘Reflections’ more into an experimental Khanate category, the top down critique that I can’t really tell most of this material apart remains, even with those highlights. That is: this is a wall of sound that has moments that make that wall even more impressive, but on the whole, it’s still a wall. Complicating my appreciation of that is the bonus disc, which is material recorded in bits and bobs along the way and thus should feel different from the album proper, but excepting some differences in recording fidelity, it really doesn’t sound too different overall.

For Xasthur’s Malefic, I do think this album is a massive step forward, balancing his genre affectations with better songwriting craft and production that helps to underline its emotionality. For someone still trying to poke and prod at this genre, this is a good set of material that definitely proves how it’s more than just hammering on your instrument and yelling into a one- or two-track recording: the vibe feels very purposeful, and the corpse paint and DIY vibe of the whole affair feels embraced and not doing-it-because-it’s-expected. …Not that I would’ve accused Xasthur of that previously, rather that the whole project definitely feels more considered this time around, flaws and all.