American black metal part IV: Beyond Twilight

This time 'round I'll bring you a post with a few of the highlights, spawned in the aftermath of the american black metal super-group Twilight. I have chosen to focus on three distinct releases. It is notable though, that each of these bands deserve a closer look, and that it is recommendable to look into their other releases, if your interrest is sparked by this.

First up is Lurker of chalice - s/t. This is one of the soloprojects of Wrest who also does Leviathan. A record that reeks of damp crypts, musty graveyards and darkened night skies. On this release, it will become apparent to the attentive listener that Wrest has taken a distinct part of the Twilight sound with him into this project. It ranges from full-on black metal, to droning, creeping doomy songs. This is the only official release by Lurker of chalice, apart from two demos. An eerie masterpiece, hands down.Secondly, another distinct soloproject formed from the ashes of Twilight, namely the one and only Xasthur and the record "Subliminal genocide". Xasthur is the brainchild of Twilight's Malefic, who has also done guest apperances on stage with bands such as Nachtmystium and Sunn O))). Xasthurs lyrics deal mostly with three themes, suicide, depression, and astral projection. Just like the easily recognizable, distorted vocals, the music itself is tormented and full of suffering. Like Lurker of chalice, the distinct Twilight sound is present here as well. Not a record to be listened to if you are in a depressed mood! If you have the mental stamina though, listen to it at night, in pitch black darkness, on a pair of headphones. Its a trip into unknown depths of the human psyche...
Lastly we have Nachtmystium - Instinct: decay. Nachtmystium is not, like Lurker of chalice and Xasthur, an soloproject, but rather a full band, featuring Azentrius, also formerly of Twilight. Nachtmystium stands out from the other two records in this post, not only in that it is a full bands, but also in that the musical focus is not what has otherwisely been coined as "depressive black metal". Nachtmystium though, has been described many a time as "psychedelic black metal". Listening to this record, it becomes apparent, why it has been dubbed as such. It has a very distinct sound, not heard often in black metal circles. One that is hard to put into exact words, so give it a listen, and you might catch my drift.