Sxuperion – Through Cosmic Corridors
We’ve had a lot of high-production black metal recently, quite good, but how about something raw, eh? Been awhile since we took a piece of flesh off of the side of a cow and just chewed on it, no salt even. Not even a fork or knife, we’ll tear at it with our fingers and teeth as they are, covering ourselves in a total mess of innards. Why? Because Xasthur is garbage, and so are his videos, he’s an atmospheric black metal image-monger wearing the mask of the sickening and raw, except it’s one of those Collegeville messes of plastique. Not even close, buddy, next. Leviathan? Cool logo and all, but really, name a single good song that doesn’t include that stupid cymbal that sounds like a telephone ringing. That’s what we thought. Crebain? Cool name, though it’s yet another Lord of the Rings reference and he has what, one good song on a split with the aforementioned Leviathan? Moving on, please. So let’s get really raw for once, let’s get out of the bedroom and into the forests, how about a forest out in Mammoth Lakes California where it basically snows year round or if it doesn’t Sxuperion is going to make sure of it.
Sxuperion is the drummer of the black metal band Valdur and the blackened death band Weverin, both worth checking out, and this here is his solo project. As any true black metal fanatic, Sxuperion surrounds himself with it, entirely it seems. He’s not satisfied with just one band, that’s not how it goes. He’s been present on tons of releases and probably figured to himself one day, hey, why not make some more black metal, no harm in that, right? Well, provided you’re not one of the three overhyped sludge piles we mentioned above, or anything close to them, yes, no harm. Knowing a bit about work he’s done in the genre, we came into this expecting absolute corruption of sound, filth to the level of plague, drums recorded in a cavern, vocals echoing from some Godforsaken pit, and what did we get?
Thankfully all of that. Sxuperion actually has a number of previous releases you can check out on the Bloody Mountain Records Bandcamp page, and trust us, you’re going to need all of it, but let’s talk about this, his most recent. Through Cosmic Corridors works for a few reasons, and one accidental feature. Let’s get the easy ones out of the way. First, he has excellent command of his vocal delivery; it’s deep, expansive, and dreadful, just what we like. Second, his chording and drums are fierce, with very little pause other than moments of atmosphere. It’s a constant pounding most of the time, pure hateful and cold energy. Third, in terms of atmosphere, he knows how to work minimalism so its slight, yet artful, and not repetitive. Sorry Burzum fans, this is the real deal. But, and here’s the thing, though we seriously dig what Sxuperion presented here, it sometimes works by accident. That’s largely because it’s so underground and raw that the low level of production is an advantage to what would possibly sound, at least at times, somewhat inexperienced and bland. It’s just that it’s so absolutely raw the sheer disgust you’ll see on faces of people trying to listen to it, and not getting it, makes it worth it. However, please note Sxuperion has proven easily on prior releases he knows what he’s doing, we’re specifically talking about Through Cosmic Corridors. Interesting thematic approach as well, what’s not to like about reading “percussive space cannons of the void” instead of “drums” in the liner notes? It’s a sure win. Whatever he does, he needs to keep that raw quality, who needs fans? They’ll come if they know the truth, which is that legitimate black metal fanatics have nothing to prove except to themselves.
Written by Stanley Stepanic
Sxuperion – Through Cosmic Corridors
Bloody Mountain Records
4.4 / 5
