Kuxan Suum- Kinich Ahau tape

Successfully blending black metal and abstract psychedelia is a task frequently attempted, but unfortunately, all too often botched.  One needs only to give a cursory listen to a band like Nachtmystium to hear how poorly such a combination of styles can be hobbled together.  Of course, the mere novelty of such an idea makes music critics drool, and so they pass such half-assed bands off as brilliant, with little to no thought regarding the quality of the actual music.  I mean, really, if I wanted to hear a band butchering Pink Floyd style 'classic rock', I'd just listen to, uh, well, probably Pink Floyd.

Luckily, Kuxan Suum, hailing from the blizzardly hell of Los Angeles, and part of the mysterious Black Twilight collective, exist to provide any would be LSD obsessed black metallars with a direction far superior to those worshiping at the disgraced altar of Waters and Gilmore.  Consisting of one seventeen minute long track, Kinich Ahau, begins with a loan, ultra-delayed and reverbed guitar plucking single notes which carry out for what seems like forever, decaying over each other in swirling, almost nauseating, patterns, creating an ominous wall of free floating tones and dismal feedback.  The effect is nothing short of entrancing, so much so in fact, that when the black metal portion of the song, which doesn't begin for nearly eight minutes, finally does kick in, it's almost unexpected, and honestly the least interesting part of the track as whole.  That's not to say that the black metal part of the song isn't good...it's quite good actually, it's just that it pales in comparison to the song's more transcendentally inspired moments.                                      
After the black metal interlude, the song returns to the esoteric psych style, this time pushing the hallucinatory guitar elements to such an extreme end, that it would make Eric Clapton, or whatever other bullshit guitar wanker you may favor, run screaming in terror.  I first heard this track on the Worship Black Twilight comp. and then ordered this tape assuming there would be different material on it, but had none such luck.  The song is so great I wasn't too upset or anything, though I do have one qualm with this release, and that is that it's a one sided tape.  Someone please tell me, what the hell is the point of that?  I mean, really, I can understand a one sided record, as it costs less to make, and requires only a moment to play over again.  But a one sided tape?  Why not at least repeat the program on both sides?  This would save me the six minutes it takes for the ailing walkman which I run through my stereo receiver to rewind the cassette so I can play the song over again.  While this may not sound like much of an issue, more than once I've had the experience of trying to play this tape for a friend, and had them distractedly lose interest while I cued it up.  The fact that the tape has no markings on it makes it even more of a pain in the ass, as I can never tell which side is the one with music on it.  I suppose I could mark the music side myself...but that's not the point!
 
Well, anyway, check out the Worship Black Twilight comp here which includes this track as well as an amazing jam by the mighty Arizmenda, and songs by four other bands ranging from decent to eh.