Xasthur: Malefic (vocals, guitars, cello, keyboards, bass guitar, drums).

Recording information: 03/2006-04/2006.

Enigmatic black metal one-man band Scott "Malefic" Conner is as close as the genre comes to a superstar. His lo-fi compositions combine the colossal grandeur of his black metal forebearers with a unique, almost indie-rock ethos. The charged, electric guitars that cascade ominously over each song owe more to the livewire tone of Hsker D than the adamantine crunch of Immortal; and the thick storm of ambient, repeated noise, and feedback evoke the more experimental end of the shoegaze sound. DEFECTIVE EPITAPH offers a cleaner, more focused Xasthur than on prior efforts. Though with the howled vocals suspended in the abrasive murk, this still sounds like rust, hail, pain, and despair.

Spin (p.128) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "There are subtleties drifting in the maelstrom..."

Kerrang (Magazine) (p.50) - "[F]ull of uncanny chord progressions, slow, ominous marches of ambient black metal doom, and a sensation of deep, cosmic despair throughout."