Thantifaxath "s/t"

This is one of those rare black metal records where the bass guitar is not only audible but also plays a rhythmic and melodic role in the music.  It's one of those things that you don't miss in black metal until you hear it.  All the other trappings are present: buzzing arpeggio guitars, blurry drumming and howled vocals.  The bass playing (or maybe it's just the mix/production of it) really elevates this release.  That's not to say that I don't love basement recordings of ghouls in corpse paint cathartically howling over the hiss of tape and cardboard sounding drums.  I love that shit.  It's just that when I hear well produced (cautiously not over produced) black metal I enjoy the clarity of its intentions.  I appreciate the murky sounds on classic releases and it gives them an antiquated flavor that makes them seem sincere.  Like there was nothing that could stop the creation of that evil din, not even the lack of technology.  That's primal, that's cool.  That being said it takes a special je ne sais quoi to make that stuff sound authentic these days.  I like hearing the bass guitar now.  Last night I went to bed early, fighting the impulse to spend too much time on Grand theft auto 5 online.  I listened to this cd on headphones while awaiting sleep to punch me in the conciousness.  It was kind of a mistake because of how much I like this disc. I fought off slumber to listen intently to nuances in the headphones, eventually sleep took hold.  I had awoken briefly at some point to take the headphones off and turn off the player and then fell back asleep and had vivid dreams of hanging out with John C. Reilly.  I have no idea what that means.