Xasthur () is the project of American musician Scott "Malefic" Conner. Conner formed Xasthur in 1995 and released eight studio albums of

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw ( lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...

by 2010, when he announced the end of the project. However, he began using the name once again in 2015 to instead perform acoustic neofolk music. The first album with this new style was entitled ''Subject to Change'', released in 2016.

Etymology

The name "Xasthur" is a combination of " Hastur" and "Xenaoth". Conner explained that he found the former name in a '' Necronomicon'' paperback and believed that it referred to "a demoness who kills people in their sleep". The latter name referred to a celestial deity he read about in a book on the

Afro-Caribbean Afro-Caribbean people or African Caribbean are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern African-Caribbeans descend from Africans taken as slaves to colonial Caribbean via the ...

religion

Santería Santería (), also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diasporic religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between the traditional Yoruba religion of We ...

History

Xasthur was created in December 1995 in

Alhambra, California Alhambra (, , ; from " Alhambra") is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately eight miles from the Downtown Los Angeles civic center. It was incorporated on July ...

, after Conner had played with several local

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...

groups in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

. Initially, the band began rehearsing and recording in a home studio with an unstable lineup. A 10-track tape of these early rehearsals was circulated on the trade scene. While the original of that tape was destroyed, some tracks appeared on re-releases of later albums. For a self-released split album with Orosius, Conner was joined on

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

and vocals by friend Mike Pardi from the band Draconis, who used the stage name "Ritual." Subsequently, Xasthur became Conner's

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ' ...

project, although Khaija "Blood Moon" Ausar (of Dacon and Crimson Moon) later appeared as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

on the song "A Curse for the Lifeless" (from '' Nortt/Xasthur'') and the EP ''Xasthur'', Mark "M.H." Hunter performed on ''Defective Epitaph'' and ''All Reflections Drained'', and Marissa Nadler sang on '' Portal of Sorrow''. Before releasing their first official full-length album in 2002, Xasthur recordings were distributed in limited editions, which were later re-released by the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Total Holocaust Records and other small underground labels. The band's first album, '' Nocturnal Poisoning'' (recorded April–September 2001), was released by the Blood Fire Death label in 2002.

Southern Lord Records Southern Lord is an American heavy metal record label that was founded in 1998 by Greg Anderson. It specialized in experimental metal: particularly doom metal, stoner rock, and drone metal. The label later expanded its line-up to include ar ...

re-released a remastered double-LP version in 2005. In the following years, Xasthur's releases were issued through a variety of labels including Bestial Onslaught Productions,

Moribund Records Moribund Records, also known as Moribund Cult or just Moribund, is an extreme metal record label based out of Port Orchard, Washington. It was founded in 1993 by Odin "The Old Goat" Thompson, the label owner and manager. Other staff include Ra ...

, Profound Lore Records, Battle Kommand Records, Autopsy Kitchen Records,

Hydra Head Records Hydra Head Records was an independent record label that specializes in extreme metal music, founded in New Mexico by Aaron Turner (the frontman of Isis) in 1993. It had another imprint, Hydra Head Noise Industries, which specialized in experiment ...

, Turanian Honour Productions, Avantgarde Music and Disharmonic Variations. Xasthur released several split albums with other black metal acts such as Acid Enema, Angra Mainyu, Black Circle, Nachtmystium,

Leviathan Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to so ...

Nortt Nortt is an extreme metal project formed in 1995 by a Danish musician who goes by an eponymous pseudonym and describes his music as "Pure Depressive Black Funeral Doom Metal". In terms of lyrics and imagery (for instance the use of corpse pai ...

and Striborg; contributed to tribute albums to

Burzum Burzum (; ) was a Norwegian music project founded by Varg Vikernes in 1991. Although Burzum never played live performances, it became a part of the early Norwegian black metal scene and is considered one of the most influential acts in black m ...

, Ildjarn,

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betray ...

Katatonia Katatonia are a Swedish heavy metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström. The band started as a studio-only project for the duo, as an outlet for the band's love of death metal. Increasing popularity led them ...

and

Manes In ancient Roman religion, the ''Manes'' (, , ) or ''Di Manes'' are chthonic deities sometimes thought to represent souls of deceased loved ones. They were associated with the ''Lares'', '' Lemures,'' '' Genii'', and '' Di Penates'' as deities (' ...

; and appeared on various compilation albums. Additionally, Conner collaborated with numerous bands including the

drone metal Drone metal or drone doom is a style of heavy metal that melds the slow tempos and heaviness of doom metal with the long-duration tones of drone music. Drone metal is sometimes associated with post-metal or experimental metal. Characteristics T ...

project Sunn O))), Mord (with Lugubre members),

Celestia Celestia is a real-time 3D astronomy software program that was created in 2001 by Chris Laurel. The program allows users to virtually travel through our universe and explore real objects that have been catalogued. Celestia also doubles as a ...

and Gravesideservice, and participated on the first album by black metal " supergroup"

Twilight Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this ...

. On March 26, 2010, Conner announced that he was wholesaling Xasthur's eighth studio album, '' Portal of Sorrow''. He also stated that this would be the last album under the Xasthur moniker, as he was dissolving the Xasthur musical project. Conner cited a lack of motivation, among other aspects, for ending Xasthur; he also stated that there would not be a reunion of this band. Conner remarked that another, non-metal musical project was in the works, later revealed to be called Nocturnal Poisoning, named after his 2002 album. Nocturnal Poisoning released three albums between 2012 and 2014: ''Other Worlds of the Mind'', ''A Misleading Reality'' and ''Doomgrass''. On September 30, 2010, Conner released the first and only music video to date under the Xasthur name, for the song "Walker of Dissonant Worlds" from the '' To Violate the Oblivious'' album. Conner was featured in ''One Man Metal'', a 2012

Noisey ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Media ...

documentary alongside Jef Whitehead of Leviathan and Russell Menzies of Striborg. On March 5, 2015, Conner announced on the official Nocturnal Poisoning Facebook page that the band were reverting to the name Xasthur. In reclaiming the name, he said: "For five years, Nocturnal Poisoning was locked out and denied every opportunity or open door that Xasthur used to have, or would've had. I worked hard at building up both projects, starting both of them from nothing and nowhere, but I'm taking back what's mine. Xasthur doesn't belong to the greedy hipsters that milk the metal business; it belongs to me and it's mine to take back." He noted that a new Xasthur album would be available in 2016 on the Disharmonic Variations label, and that the current version of the band (including contributions from Nocturnal Poisoning associate members Christopher Hernandez and Robert Nesslin) would be a continuation of Nocturnal Poisoning's acoustic-driven music, saying, "There's no need to rehash old Xasthur songs, the acoustic ones are plenty dark, and sometimes they're not. If you've been listening, reading, thinking and getting it, we could call it Xasthur acoustic/unplugged with, whatever, a country, blues, 'folk', bluegrass, doomgrass or singer/songwriter style and technique in it". On April 16, Xasthur's first-ever live concert appearance was announced, to take place on June 19, 2015 at the Thirst for Light: Cascadian Summer Solstice II festival at Red Hawk Avalon in Pe Ell, Washington. On September 4, the title for the next Xasthur album was announced as ''Subject to Change''; it was released May 6, 2016 by Disharmonic Variations.

Influences

Conner has noted other one-man black metal projects such as

and

Graveland Graveland are a Polish pagan black metal band which was formed in 1991 by Rob Darken (born Robert Fudali). They began as a black metal band before adopting a pagan and Viking metal style. The lyrics and imagery of Graveland are strongly insp ...

as an inspiration for his singular approach: "The main way that Burzum inspired me (contrary to popular belief) was that he could do it all on his own-- why couldn't I?" Although similar in terms of low

fidelity Fidelity is the quality of faithfulness or loyalty. Its original meaning regarded duty in a broader sense than the related concept of ''fealty''. Both derive from the Latin word ''fidēlis'', meaning "faithful or loyal". In the City of London ...

production and the wearing of corpse paint, musically and lyrically, the focus of the first edition of Xasthur was usually not on

paganism Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

, Satanism or anti-

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religio ...

– as is common in the black metal genre – but rather on

astral projection Astral projection (also known as astral travel) is a term used in esotericism to describe an intentional out-of-body experience (OBE) that assumes the existence of a subtle body called an " astral body" through which consciousness can func ...

darkness Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low ...

, despair,

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

hate Hatred is an intense negative emotional response towards certain people, things or ideas, usually related to opposition or revulsion toward something. Hatred is often associated with intense feelings of anger, contempt, and disgust. Hatred is s ...

and

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

Live

Conner has toured with Sunn O))) and has joined Nachtmystium onstage, but until recently, stated that he "will always keep Xasthur a band that will not play live". However, Xasthur's first live concert took place in June 2015.

Members

Current

* Scott "Malefic" Conner – vocals, all instruments (1996-2010, 2015-present) * Christopher Hernandez – guitar, vocals (2015-present) * Rachel Roomian – guitar, vocals (2016-present)

Past

* Mike "Ritual" Pardi – drums and vocals (1995-1999)

Past session musicians

* Khaija "Blood Moon" Ausar – keyboards on '' Nortt/Xasthur'' and "Xasthur" * Mark "M.H." Hunter – vocals and ambience on ''Defective Epitaph'' and ''All Reflections Drained'' * Marissa Nadler – vocals on '' Portal of Sorrow'' * Ronald Armand Andruchuk – drums on Nocturnal Poisoning's ''Other Worlds of the Mind'' * Robert Nesslin - vocals on Nocturnal Poisoning's ''"A Misleading Reality'' and ''Doomgrass'', and Xasthur's ''Subject to Change''

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Nocturnal Poisoning'' (2002, Blood Fire Death) * '' The Funeral of Being'' (2003, Blood Fire Death) * '' Telepathic with the Deceased'' (2004,

) * '' To Violate the Oblivious'' (2004, Moribund Records) * ''

Subliminal Genocide ''Subliminal Genocide'' is a 2006 album by the American one-man black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, ...

'' (2006,

) * ''

Defective Epitaph ''Defective Epitaph'' is a 2007 album by the American one-man black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, s ...

'' (2007, Hydra Head Records) * '' All Reflections Drained'' (2009, Hydra Head Records) * '' Portal of Sorrow'' (2010, Disharmonic Variations) * ''Subject to Change'' (2016, Disharmonic Variations) * ''Victims of the Times'' (2021, Prophecy Productions)

Collaboration albums

* ''The Hallucination Tunnels'' with Casket of Dreams (2021, Appalachian Noise Records)

EPs

* ''Xasthur/Orosius'' split with Orosius (1999, self-released) * ''A Darkened Winter'' (2001, self-released) * ''Xasthur/Acid Enema'' split with Acid Enema (2002, self-released) * ''Suicide in Dark Serenity'' (2003, Bestial Onslaught Productions) * ''Xasthur/Angra Mainyu'' split with Angra Mainyu (2004, Total Holocaust Records) * '' Xasthur/Leviathan'' split with

(2004, Profound Lore Records/Battle Kommand Records) * ''Nachtmystium/Xasthur'' split with Nachtmystium (2004, Autopsy Kitchen Records) * '' Nortt/Xasthur'' split with

(2004, Total Holocaust Records) * ''Xasthur'' (2006, Moribund Records) * ''Striborg/Xasthur'' split with Striborg (2007, Autopsy Kitchen Records) * ''Cryostasium/Xasthur'' split with Cryostasium (2007, Bestial Onslaught Productions) * ''A Living Hell'' split with Black Circle (2008, Turanian Honour Productions) * ''2005 Demo'' (2010, Hydra Head Records) * ''Self Deficient/Upscale Ghetto'' (2018, Disharmonic Variations) * ''Aestas Pretium MMXVIII'' (2018, Lupus Lounge)

Demos

* ''Rehearsal '97'' (1997, self-released) * ''

A Gate Through Bloodstained Mirrors ''A Gate Through Bloodstained Mirrors'' is a 2001 demo by the American black metal one-man-band Xasthur. Reviews of that release, first published by Profane Productions as a limited CD-R edition of 150 copies, proved to be positive, comparing th ...

'' (2001, Profane Productions) * ''2002 Rehearsal'' (2002, self-released) * ''Sigils Made of Flesh and Trees'' (2017, Appalachian Noise Records)

Compilations

* ''Nightmares at Dawn'' (2012, Avantgarde Music) * ''1997-1999 Rehearsals'' (2013, self-released)

Compilation appearances

* "Chill of the Night" and "Der Det Skjulte Lever" ( Ildjarn covers) on ''Gathered Under the Banner of Strength and Anger: A Homage to Ildjarn'' (2004, Pestilence Records) * "Erblicket die Töchter des Firmaments" (

cover) on ''The Tribute'' (2005, Ash Nazg/Perverted Taste Productions) * "Maane's Natt" (

cover) on ''Destroyers from the Western Skies (As Night Devours the Sun)'' (2005, KillZone Records) * "Tyrant of Nightmares" on ''Reflections from the Abyss - Chapter I'' (2006, Kthulu Productions) * "The Cold Earth Slept Below..." (

cover) on ''To the Triumph of Evil (Witnesses to the Bringer of Life's Decay): A Tribute to Judas Iscariot'' (2006, ISO666 Releases) * "Palace of Frost" (

cover) on ''December Songs - A Tribute to Katatonia'' (2006, Northern Silence Productions)

As Nocturnal Poisoning

* ''2011 Demo'' EP (2012, self-released) * ''Other Worlds of the Mind'' (2012, Disharmonic Variations) * ''A Misleading Reality'' (2013, Disharmonic Variations) * "Clarity Within Your Confusion" 7" single (2014, Children of the Night) * ''Doomgrass'' (2014, The End Records)

With
Twilight Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this ...

* ''Twilight'' (2005, Southern Lord Records)

Guest appearances

* Vocals, guitar and keyboards on Sunn O)))'s '' Black One'' (2005, Southern Lord Records) * Vocals on "Coma Mirror" from Sunn O))) and

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surf ...

's '' Angel Coma'' (2006, Southern Lord Records) * Bass and keyboards on Mord's ''Imperium Magnum Infernalis'' (2006, Non Compos Mentis) * Vocals and keyboards on

's ''Frigidiis Apotheosia : Abstinencia Genesiis'' (2008, Paragon Records/Apparitia Recordings) * Bass guitar on Gravesideservice's ''Masters in Lunacy'' (2011, Church of the Immaculate Deception) * Bass guitar on Gravesideservice's ''Fog'' (2013, self-released)

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Black metal musical groups from California People from Alhambra, California Musical groups established in 1995 Southern Lord Records artists Musical groups disestablished in 2010 One-man bands