Well first of all, I have to mention that I haven’t been a die-hard black metal fanatic for a few years already, mostly because I believe it’s not really an expanding genre anymore. But to every general law there always are at least a few exceptions, and indeed Blut Aus Nord ought to be mentionned here. Weirdly enough, I didn’t know much of this band when I suddenly bought their new record out of a pure coincidence. As a matter of fact, I’ll never regret doing that!
It could be because black metal has now become out of my usual interest, it could be boiled down to the most honest fact that I’ve always enjoyed the strange emotional effects that both atonality and dissonance can induce me into, it could also be that I love letting my mind drift out to imaginary floating soundscapes… Well, many reasons can explain every single human experience, but I believe that Odinist is an extremely well-done heavy voivodesque drone metal album. There, I said it! But why am I writing this? Because in every song presented here by Blut Aus Nord, I can clearly hear massive waves rising high and falling deep down only to recycle themselves again, and again, and again, in slow-motion lavas of sounds. In its entirety, the album is surfing on these kind of aural shores. Another good point to mention is that the vocals have almost been mixed within an enveloping ambient and noisy atmosphere which follows like a bio-plasmatic aura most of Odinist‘s compositions. They are inherent to the sonic textures and never in front of it.
As an all, it’s quite repetitive, sure, and almost linear and without any explicit dynamism, you’re right about that – but I’ve got to claim that in this case, that’s the whole point! I’m saying this because I know some people have been complaining about how uneventful this album really is. But please listen through the subtle riffing mastery displayed here – there’s so much atmosphere and feeling deep inside every note and at the heart of every tone. It’s not about rythms, it’s not about technicalities, neither is it about blast beats and earth-shattering evil stormy passages. The guitars rather are fluid-like, heavy-foggy, crawling underneath while reaching out for the stars. When my roomate heard only a few moments of a song, his initial reaction was to mention how cool and laid-back the guitarist seemed to be. Of course it’s dark music, but in a relaxing, borderline somnolent and dreamy way, as if they wanted us to find some sort of a hidden beauty into apparent creepiness and fear.
I don’t really know how to explain this further other than by informing you that it sucked me in its spirals right within a few minutes of playing. Let me sum it up with only a few expressive words – mesmerizing, mysterious, stellar, eerie and magical. Yeah, I can only wish all black metal records could contain at least half the flowing e-motion that Blut Aus Nord have summoned here. Thanks for the massage, guys! I have been illuminated…
-Oliver Side
VITALS:
Release: 2007
Label: Appease Me Records
Avantgenre: Black Liquid Drone Metal
Duration: 36:53
Origin: France
Official site: http://www.e-c-h-o-e-s.com/ban/index.html
Review online since: 10.12.2007 / 04:13:20
| TRACKLIST:
01 – Intro |
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