Forgotten Woods definitely rules. Except for that shit comeback album that came out somewhat recently. In a way, Curse of Mankind is to black metal as to Orchid or Morningrise is to death metal. I'm surprised it doesn't end up in more top 5 or top 10 lists, but black metal fans tend to me more purist.
On that note, I guess I get why people say Nocturnal Poisoning is the best/only good Xasthur album. It always strikes me as an odd choice though. The songs are too long. The atmosphere is better on the demos or on The Funeral of Being. I would think the people who like NP should like the pre-Nocturnal Poisoning demos better. I think this is much better than anything on the first few Xasthur albums, honestly. It's terrific. There's even something resembling a guitar solo.
Telepathic With The Deceased and To Violate The Oblivious came out in rapid succession in 2004, and it's no coincidence that the best Xasthur songs that year were on the excellent Xasthur/Leviathan and Xasthur/Nortt splits. The band's surge in popularity happened at the same time as the cash-out albums that the guy raced out so he could finish his record contract. He's not the only guy who didn't really like Moribund and didn't want to fork over his best material, hence a lot of retreads on those albums. (Leviathan re-recording/re-releasing a lot of old stuff is another example of artists not loving Moribund.) No coincidence that Subliminal Genocide is the best Xasthur record. It sounds good (still), is much fresher than what came before it, and the songs are notably different than the previous four albums. It's a strong effort. This track is particularly good. It includes irregular time signatures and a bass solo.
Xasthur has some dud albums, but it's not the one-note band some people claim. Malefic's vocals are/were as powerful as anyone when he was at his best, and I think he gets a bum rap due to overexposure. Xasthur was a good band, but I'll never argue it was perfect or even great. It was a band for the iTunes era. Some great, very memorable songs spread over several albums and splits, but no great albums. Plus, Malefic was a guy who took a lot of hate in contrast to how little self-promotion he did. No live performances, very few interviews. He wasn't spamming himself at all. I still think he should be remembered for being at the forefront of mid 2000s USBM, and not remembered negatively as such. It's not like Norway was cranking out classics that decade.
FWIW, Leviathan is a totally different band, and other than their split and collaborating on a side project, they are really very, very different.
