Yeah, that's true. I'm actually surprised these guys were okay with being filmed.

Yeah...I guess one reason I was willing to watch this was because I don't particularly care for any of the three bands discussed to any large degree. Probably wouldn't want to see this type of thing on anyone I was extremely interested in.

Watching this did give me a bit of a renewed interest in looking into Striborg's early stuff and Xasthur's latter works. For what that's worth?

Thanks for posting the link. I thoroughly enjoyed the doc and can't wait for the other parts. I can’t compliment the filmmaker enough for his illumination of this highly evasive subgenre. Perhaps we are seeing a level of increased interest beyond the subterranean black metal fans and eBay geeks? Maybe we’ll see a demand for information akin to what we saw with Lords of Chaos, Peter Beste, and Until the Light Takes Us.

Hey, now we need a second installment featuring Paysage d'Hiver, Neige et Noirceur, and Vinterriket!

Nice to see this, and I have to say I am a big fan of both Striborg and Xasthur.

Yeah, that was weird statement that should have had a follow up question and some more context.

To me, watching him say that kind of connected with me in a way. Not in the way that, "hey, I should go kill myself." But rather, "Scott Connor is actually psychotic and his music reflects his being well." That is something that somebody with mental illnesses would come up with.

Maybe he was just saying that to come off a certain way so his image would fit in with his music. He did seem a bit weird, but in general he didn't come off as mentally ill or anything like that. Perhaps a little depressed, but certainly not borderline psychotic. I mean I think a lot of him coming off as unstable is because of his weird near-baldness. If he had a normal haircut, I don't think he would come off as so weird. Also, does anyone know when the interviews were filmed, I'd like to know if it was before or after Xasthur was put to an end.

lol You think he may have came off as unstable because because of his lack of hair? That's pretty silly, don't you think?


Perhaps... It's hard to say with the footage seen.

Alright maybe that came out wrong, but appearance definitely has an affect on how people perceive you. I didn't really mean that his hair in itself made him look unstable, just perhaps more so than he would otherwise. It definitely is unusual, as someone already stated, kind of makes it looks like he is ill. I mean he definitely is a bit of a weird guy, not denying that, just saying maybe his appearance exacerbates that.

i was impressed with how real and down to earth this first part of the doco was,apart from that part ^.these guys (apart from maybe that stiborg guy)seem to have social anxiety or depression of some kind,which isnt very uncommen these days.but i dont think they realise how lucky they are to let the world be able to hear an expression of there dark thoughts through there music.
this comes at a good time as i have just brought xasthurs nocturnal poisoning and am liking it..will have to check out those other two aswell

i wish i was just discovering xasthur's nocturnal poisening, as it is one of my favorite albums, fuck what elistest have to say. that said this was cool to watch. i def prefer leviathan and xasthur's music compared to striborg whos minimalism just never took hold very well for me.

I don't know much about any of these bands, but the doc was at least somewhat interesting. I think it'd be hard to say how "for real" any of these guys are in terms of their depression/isolation/outlook on life without knowing them personally.

Wrest sounds like a cry baby, and Malefic seems like he's genuinely down and out. Sin Nanna was the only one that didn't seem socially awkward or something. Interesting video though. Cool to see someone attempt a black metal video that doesn't focus on Mayhem eating brains or some shit.

dystopia4 certainly has a point. Now that I think about it, his appearance (especially) the hair definitely played a large part in my perceiving him as being strange. That said, he was incredibly awkward and he really did seem morbidly depressed. I'd also be curious to know if this was after the dissolution of Xasthur, as well as what he's up to these days.

Genuinely confused by why you guys feel that way. He's very private, introverted, depressed, misanthropic. His values and lifestyle completely clash with modern day America, yet he stuck there in Los Angeles County.

In interviews he's mentioned how too much freedom for a society is bad, how people abuse their freedom, overpopulate, pollute. We live in a time where we have more freedom, more opportunity, more technology than ever before, and we totally piss on it. People just continue to waste precious resources, work completely meaningless jobs, raise their kids like shit, play with their stupid smartphones all day, and go home in their needlessly large truck to their air-conditioned home to watch their 50 inch LCD TV, abuse substances, and just follow the herd. But even with all of this, it's just not enough. We have a 7 billion population when studies estimate we can live sustainably at about 2 billion. Our climate is shifting. But what's really important is getting an iPhone 5 the day of release, complaining on Twitter about Dan Cathy of Chic-Fil-A, and wearing 140 designer jeans.

I hope that's not getting too off topic or too political, but it's really no wonder why he is depressed and says "hey, maybe you should consider killing yourself."

Get me some Vordb.

I'll watch this; seems done way better than the previous bm docus.

@Errebuss: many of those things you name are completely avoidable in a way or another, especially consumism. Shitty and empty people has been here since always, just we know it better now given the internet. At least Varg seems to be successful at it's own way of living, but Varg's not poor at all.

Oh. Great. Another black metal doc.
I didn't find it particularly entertaining or insightful, and I can't say I'm intrigued enough to give any of the acts in question another listen.

I rather enjoyed this documentary, it wasn't the most insightful thing in the world but it was nice to be able to see a little bit into the people behind the music. That last bit about the suicide was kinda sketchy though I'm sure it was meant to be a lead into the next segment but they probably should have done a bit more with it in this part instead of leaving it like that. All in all not bad and I'll be excited to see the other parts, anybody know as to when they will be released?

Yeah, that would be cool if he interviewed them too.

I think Striborg has played concerts before, he just lives isolated. Don't listen to Leviathan, but I can relate to his comments.

That seems like it will be in part 2, but I thought it a very stupid thing to say.

This.

I still suspect he only said it for shock value.

This was an interesting watch. Only know Wrest though. I cringed when the 3rd guy made the comment about killing yourself though.

Not sure, but Malefic with the killing yourself comment feels like bad editing to me. It seems like there was a whole conversation before and after that, but they just used that part, because it sounded cool. Without any other context it does sound dumb, but without hearing the full conversation I'm not gonna judge it.

Also since some people were asking apparently this was filmed before Malefic put an end to Xasthur. Or atleast that is what the youtube comment say.

It was definitely before Malefic/Scott announced the end of Xasthur. He grew his hair back since then so it's definitely at least a year or more old.

I was pleasantly surprised that Sin Nanna seemed to be a regular guy. I for one reason or another thought he'd be really out there considering his music.

Speechless...These men have inspired many of my creations over the years. I am happy to finally put a face and voice with the music, and sad at the same time... I don' know why

The footage of Wrest is also fairly old, looks like it was shot before he moved to Illinois.

what leviathen album would you recommend ??

Go chronologically. Or at the very least, leave the last two for when you're more familiar with the first two.

isnt chronologically a split with xasthur?? would rather a full album

Then go chronologically with full-lengths. Make sure to check the Verrater comp too. Lots of great shit on there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38TaTuyJ ... h_response here is the trailer for part 2. Really looking forward to it!

Massive Conspiracy is my favorite black metal album of all time. Just sayin'

Thanks for posting the trailer. Fuck teaser trailers though.


Yes, exactly.


I started with True Traitor, True Whore and I don't regret it at all. It was one of the best releases of that year. Anyways, you'll get a different answer from most people...

^Yeah you definitely will get a different answer from most people. I personally was a little let down with True Traitor... after Massive Conspiracy... Basically, to break it down:

More standard hateful black metal: Tenth Sub Level...
More twisted sounding black metal with acoustic and ambient bits: Tentacles...
Purely ambient/acoustic: Silhouette...
A mix of all of the above: Massive Conspiracy...

I'd go for True Traitor... last if I were you. Less multilayered than Massive Conspiracy... for sure.
DON'T overlook the splits. They are all fantastic.

I don't like Massive Conspiracy and True Traitor because Wrest's trademark bass lines are pretty much non-existent. That's why I like Wrest's work, even though he makes standard black metal his basslines are what make the music so awesome.

thanks,i think ill get massive conspiracy see what aspect of the album i like then the next album will be a bit easier

I don't find this to be very true at all, especially for Massive Conspiracy. They are very existent indeed.

just got striborg "southwest passage" .coz it was cheap off i tunes.not bad on a first listen,not as bad as i thought it was going to be judging on what other people have said.nothing on nocturnal poisoning though,been listening to that album over and over last couple of days

To answer your question for which Leviathan album to check out first, tho i am a bit late in responding, would be
a) tentacals of whorror, this was my first introduction to leviathan and it is a weird creepy, raw atmospheric album that deserves to be heard.
or
b) massive conspiracy (which bloodycumshit i noticed you chose) which presents a more mature, varied and layered version of all aspects of leviathans sound.

that said, leviathans demos and splits are all worth tracking down in my opinion if you like the official albums. the split with Xasthur is very strong material from both artists. Which Xasthur are you thinking of checking out next? I am a big fan of "A gate through bloodstained mirrors", subliminal genocide, and Suicide in dark serenity. incase you were wondering.