What I love most about black metal, asides from the ability to create intense cacophonous textures out of lo-fi hiss, is that is can really conjure up a dense and beautiful atmosphere, all the while being abrasive and "heavy", if not in the traditional sense of the word. This approach to black metal is taken further in the wave of 2000s-era one man bands, and one of the best of the whole bunch simply has to be Xasthur.
To Violate The Oblivious is a journey through a dark and twisted world, where misery seeps from every minute, and a soothing melancholy edge compliments the harsh metal perfectly. The riffs, especially in moments where the rest of the instrumentation drops out, are expertly weaved into a tapestry of interesting melody, being stark and somewhat drab whilst at the same time being uplifting and dually poignant.
If you don't like black metal then this is probably not a good place to start, but like many other recordings by Xasthur, this is an under-rated masterpiece.
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