I had not heard about whole documentary. Being currently plagued by flu, and trying to figure out what to do what qualifies as "rest". As simply laying down doing nothing is pretty much impossible for me. Just can't be done. There's time for that when I'm dead.
Anyways, mr. Salamanauhat adviced this document yesterday and I decided to spend 45 minutes to see it.
When it's VICE production and only 3 guys interviewed, I had quite small expectations. But eventually, they actually get probably more out of less people than trying to include more perspectives / interview targets. Idea is to choose one man bands which represent the "outsider" element of (black)metal the best. And the natural choice is the Southern Lord roster bands: Xasthur, Leviathan ja Striborg.
Because there are only 3 guys and director/interviewer stay out quite well, it leaves about 15 mins of fame (hah) for each guy to deal with the project and their lives in general.
While document is fairly good as document itself, it is perhaps even better to indicate drastic difference of what is (or what I, and many others feel is) european black metal... visionary, grandioso, faustian, perhaps sometimes fascist, occasionally even semi-intellectual and if not as opposite, then at least very separated from those currents is the somewhat visible current of american BM embracing its own personal angst, social inadequacy, solitude within urban surroundings, and all sorts of... well. You know.
Of course the interviewers and the format has a lot to do with outcome, yet Striborg (from Tasmania) manages to come out as somewhat down to earth guy, but still with authentic link to solitude and nature mysticism.
While watching something like Xasthur, makes me think once in a while fuck what a crap this is. Inverted baseball cap guy in some palm tree park complaining that people don't understand him and leave me alone. Oh please, hand him a tissue already!
But it is still entertaining document to some extent. Even if you don't particularly worship or even know any of the bands. Idea of this self recorded one man metal bands is very appealing and one of the best things what happened for BM in many ways... Transformation from rock groups to something else.
