XASTHUR

US black metal artist. As announced in Malefic's blog, he is no longer recording or writing under the Xasthur name; Portal of Sorrow is the last album.

Origin of the name:
In several interviews Malefic clearly states that it is a composite of Xastur, a demoness that kills people in their sleep, from the Necronomicon paperback and Xenaoth, a higher celestial spirit from the Santeria religion. An original idea for the name was Xasthuriath, but was then shortened to Xasthur on the release of the now destroyed rehearsal tape in 1997.