SO RONREY: COOL ONE MAN BLACK METAL DOCO

Part one of this expose on the hermits of what has been dubbed “basement black meta” over the last decade or so is just about what you’d expect it to be. It’s not doing any favors for those of us –like moths to a flame– strangely drawn to this bizarre subgenre as we try to maintain that we’re not actually introverted weirdos. But therein lies the genius of ambient black metal and the one man projects that have come to represent it, it taps into some weird unseen layer of consciousness that allows even the immature, man-child like yours truly to enjoy this kind of stuff. The above clip showcases Leviathan, Tasmania’s Striborg and that USBM stalwart Xasthur, all for the first time ever on camera. All suspicions are confirmed. Xasthur guy seems a bit too willing to get provocative (not surprising considering the inconsistent quality of his work); Striborg dude is a genuine hermit who makes very underrated music; and the man behind Leviathan actually has the most lucid things to say about music. Namely, that there is something uniquely genuine about the silliness of metal. In any case, this goes deeper into the black metal aesthetic than the forthcoming Metal Evolution episode is going to.