BLUT AUS NORD

Well, take away the vikings and add some tuned guitars and you get this epic black metal album. Or Experimental Post-Metal as some call it. The music has been softened here compared with Memoria Vetusta Part I. There are still plenty of Burzum/Mayhem references here. Blut Aus Nord has not done a Genesis and gone pop-rock.......... Thankfully ! But you find some Benedict monks like chants here and some melodic stuff. Unfortunate, the melodic stuff does not stack up. The quality is not there. So what we get is a half-baked piece of bread which may appeal to the fans of epic metal. Although, I seriously doubt it. I think this album is a step down in quality compared to the likes of Memoria Vetusta Part I and their other albums. This album is just an album which goes nowhere and nowhere fast. Back to the drawing board, guys.

2 stars (barely)

Blut Aus North's three contributions is the same as on their four ways split with Reverence and two other bands. The songs is cold esoteric black metal. Cold but epic. They reminds me a lot about Dark Funeral and in particular; Mysticum. But the material here is third rate and not interesting at all. The contributions from Reverence is in the same street. This EP is out and out black metal. In other words; without any interest for anyone but the most die hard black metal fans.

Even by Blut Aus North's own standards, this EP is a bad effort.

1.5 stars

I guess I have to say something about the three other bands too although I have no clue who they are and I could not care less too.

Bloodoline does a kind of industrial black metal with a more organic sound than Blut Aus Nord. Their material is not too bad. Reverence is straigth industrial metal and nothing more. Their sound is icecold. Picture a shipyard where thousands of people is milling around the ship they are building. Hear the sound. That's Reverence. The quality is not too bad. Blut Aus Nord does industrial black metal too, but with a more organic sound than Reverence. The quality is pretty good. Karras does a more grindcore orientated industrial metal. More grindcore than industrial metal, in fact. Their contribution is the best one here.

Industrial metal is the keyword here. I am pretty sure industrial metal is not progressive rock. Not even I find any joy in this album because this is simply not my kind of music. Neither is this any good industrial metal too. I guess one star is the only right choice.

1 star

"Acceptance (Aske)" Admittedly, I was not expecting bright, calming synthesizer pad to open the album.

"Disciple's Libration (Lost in the Nine Worlds)" However, I was fully expecting a 180 degree turn on the second track, and that's precisely what happens. Rapid drumming and grating guitars begin the sonic assault, later joined by growling vocals and some rather tasteful lead guitar. The starkly beautiful denouement should have arrived sooner I think, because it's definitely the better, more intelligible part of the piece.

"The Cosmic Echoes of Non-Matter (Immaterial Voices of the Fathers)" Intense music barks right from the beginning. Constant double bass and vocal retching would make this something to pass by, as not even the lead guitar makes the piece interesting, but the tapestry of guitars midway through is pretty cool business.

"Translucent Body of Air (Sutta Anapanasati)" Very similar to the ending of the second track, this features shimmering guitar with an otherworldly tone creeping over it- simply amazing.

"The Formless Sphere (Beyond the Reason)" The sound on this one seems rather tinny, as though the bass is muffled, a problem that appears on other tracks as well, but not as bad as here. It is the usual constant onslaught of heavy drumming, sludgy guitar, and growling. Halfway through it becomes something far more lucid, with a great lead.

"...the Meditant (Dialogue With the Stars)" Blut aus Nord may be a metal band of some manner, but their talent really shines when they kill the distortion for a while and let the melody breathe. They do this in the beginning, and then slaughter it with acerbic gain and painful vocals. There is a lengthy guitar solo that consumes much of the middle of the track, which is somewhat melodic and economical. Midway through, the glistening guitar comes back for a while, only to be consumed once more by that garbled metal sound; the second consumption is far superior to the first, however, and the piece ends beautifully.

"The Alcove of Angels (Vipassana)" Perhaps the speediest track on the album, this may enthrall those who enjoy a constant barrage of noise, but I'm grateful for the occasional respites when there is no drumming at all. The exception is part of the final couple of minutes, when the music is closer to that of Mono- hauntingly melodic.

"Antithesis of the Flesh (...and Then Arises a New Essence)" One would think a band would tire of playing breakneck, tinny, slushy music, but not this one. An audible layer of keyboard adds another ingredient, but it is subtle. The guitar riffs are at their best when they are unaccompanied.

"Elevation" The final track is a breath of fresh air, as it were, since it has a refreshing tempo and a melodic clearness. It does grow repetitive, however- one can only sit through the same riff so many times, even if it is great music. Either way, the last one is the second best.

"Chapter I" Murky tones and disquieting echoes make for an unsettling listening experience.

"Chapter II" The second track continues with the gloomy sounds and sludgy sound, maintaining a moderate tempo throughout.

"Chapter III" Once again, a sinister ambience bridges the tracks. This time, the drumming is more rapid, if still subdued in terms of volume, the guitars are an oozing wall of sound, and the lead guitar seems to be playing out of tune.

"Chapter IV" This track is, of course, more of the same, but relies more heavily on snarling yet whispering vocals.

"Chapter V" If modern-day King Crimson played doom metal, it would sound like this, as there is some rather intriguing Robert Fripp-like lead involved. Faintly, some semblance of clean vocals emerge.

"Chapter VI" Distant percussion and droning guitar produce a hypnotic yet simultaneously annoying piece. It evolves (devolves?) into a messy yet steady onslaught of noise and petrifying sounds.

"Chapter VII" An atonal guitar lead runs over blasts of sound, and provides a foundation for some ugly growling. However, it does become something slightly more interesting as it progresses, even though the overall mood doesn't change very much.

"Chapter VIII" The final and longest track opens with more science fiction-like vocals, and predictably, bursts into strident guitars and outlying drums. Unbelievably, it is more horrific than anything that came before.

This band is labelled as Post-Rock. Maybe Post-Black Metal is a much more fitting label. On their previous albums, Blut Aus Nord sounded like a mix between Gorgoroth and Burzum. They changed their sound on this album and got a very industrial sound. They are still black metal with very clear references to Mayhem. But most of this album sounds like inner hell with a twisted atonal sound. The instruments are all downtuned. I think that is the best label I can put on this album.

Quality wise, this is not particular good. Then again, I am not used to this kind of music so I may be the wrong person to express an opinion about this album. Besides of the sound, which I pretty much like, there is no outstanding tracks here. In fact, there is no tracks I really like. This is a post-black metal album and that's it. But discover it yourself. This is not for me, though.

2 stars

Well, this ain't post metal. It is straight old style black metal. This album comes across as a cross breeding between Gorgoroth, Emperor's first album and the two first Burzum albums. Music as black as the devil's paintkit in other words. There are some subtle hints of melodies here too. Blut Aus Nord has as per usual incorporated some industrial elements too. But the musis on this album is basically straight black metal and more so here than on the first two Blut Aus Nord albums. That despite of the song titles which gave some hints of progressive elements. There are none of them here. None.

I actually think this album is pretty good. It is some of the heaviest, fastest black metal I have ever heard in my life and I know this scene pretty well. The album is best described in one word: Inferno. My main gripe is the lack of any progressive elements on this album and the lack of variation. But black metal albums like this should not have any variations. But this album is not for me.

2 stars

The music is surprisingly developed and multi-layered, this being "necro" black metal. It is obvious that Blut Aus Nord from the very beginning did not follow the standard black metal formula. There are some instrumental parts here which is pretty tasty. But the music is still black metal with the usual vocals. This is not progressive rock. This is an unknown gemstone of a black metal album and those into black metal should check it out. But I am not into this type of black metal or black metal in general, though I like Emperor and similar bands. Hence my rating of this album.

2 stars

Richard Wagner left a legacy. One of them is perhaps black metal. At least the type of black metal with a massive sound and some melody. We are not talking about the likes of Immortal and Darkthrone. We are talking about a band like Blut Aus Nord. Richard Wagner's operas and symphonies is perhaps a bigger influence on Blut Aus Nord than the likes of Venom, Bathory and Mayhem. Blut Aus Nord has nothing in common with Venom and not much in common with Bathory and Mayhem either. Welcome to the music Richard Wagner would had written if he was alive today.

This album is the second of Blut Aus Nord's albums and a natural development from the debut album. Blut Aus Nord was still in transit being a decent black metal band to a great black metal band on this album. This album is pretty melodic at places. But most of all; it is crushing heavy. As crushing heavy as you are ever likely to hear. Although there are a lot of influences from the likes of Richard Wagner in their music, this is by no means a black metal opera. It is different from normal black metal, but still black metal. The difference is probably because Blut Aus Nord is from France and not from a Scandinavian country. They therefore have a different take on black metal. The forests has been replaced with European culture like the opera in Paris. The vocals are mostly rasping vocals, but there are also some clear vocals. The instruments are mostly guitars, bass and drums. The usual fare.

The quality is not particular great. It is a transitional album released on a very small label (Impure Creations Records/Velvet Music. Later re-released through the bigger Candlelight label) and that shows. It is still not a bad album and it is worth checking out if you are into this type of music. But I have to give it two stars. Mostly because the songs are not that great. But still.........

2 stars