By:
Ernesto Aguilar
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 27/10/ 2017
Label: Debemur Morti Productions
what is truly most evident is an extreme music group that will not be bound to definitions, or at least is willing to experiment to ascend beyond what we think we know of a genre.
"Deus Salutis Meae"
CD//DD//LP track listing
1.
δημιουργός
2.
Chorea Macchabeorum
3.
Impius
4.
γνῶσις
5.
Apostasis
6.
Abisme
7.
Revelatio
8.
ἡσυχασμός
9.
Ex tenebrae lucis
10.
Métanoïa
The Review:
Black
metal features a handful of longtime performers in its midst. Among them is
France's Blut Aus Nord. Since 1995's "Ultima Thulee," the
now-quartet have grown from a vehicle for vocalist Vindsval, who began the
project as Vlad in 1993, into a fully realized band crafting some of the
already adventurous black metal scene's more daring music.
Most
notably, Blut Aus Nord's “777” trilogy of records, comprised primarily of works led solely by
Vindsval, and its “Memoria Vetusta”
trio of recordings wedged in between them, put forward the pensive detail for
which the act is best known. Though its discography is a thread that carries on
the tradition of first-wave black metal buried within its performances, the
band is almost as a rule devoted to obliterating what you think of the
subgenre. Its music is hard to categorize and virtually changes with every
release. Sometimes loud and caustic, songs are equally at turns sweeping and
cinematic. Consider its interlocking tracks from the 2016 split "Codex Obscura Nomina," where
classical influences, which have frequently appeared in Blut Aus Nord's
music, led the way through its four selections. If you are new to the group,
this is music you are undoubtedly going to be pushed by, because this is a band
that refuses to let you get comfortable, and instead keeps you focused on how
songs, and in fact the arc of its performance progress.
As
with anything Blut Aus Nord, you can't talk about "Deus Salutis Meae" on a
track-by-track basis. Instead, you have to approach it as a complete work. As
such, the French group's upcoming album is both a departure from its split with
Ævangelist and "Memoria
Vetusta III - Saturnian Poetry," its 2014 recording. That last full
length saw Blut Aus Nord return to its roots – terse
guitars, rangy bass and one of the best vocal efforts by Vindsval to date.
Heavy in delivery while nimble in how it was performed, this particular effort
was certainly hard, yet stayed beguiling in its tonality. Like previous albums,
the listener was treated to a fresh experience that made it altogether
creative. "Codex Obscura
Nomina" was a complicated affair that divorced the old sound in favor
of multi-layered effects, synthesizer and a moody, swirling mash. Brilliant on
its own, this release's outcome took some by surprise. However, with "Deus Salutis Meae," you hear Blut Aus Nord constructing onto the foundations it made on
the split the echoes of the classic black metal of "Memoria Vetusta III," into something that sounds
futuristic and forward.
Take
a song like "Impius" or
even "Chorea Macchabeorum"
where both, at first listen, sound like particularly good black metal, as can
be said for "Apostasis,"
which was released as a preview track. On a second, third and fourth listen, it
is apparent how breathtaking Blut Aus Nord's
musicianship truly is. Its masterful percussion, pulsing bass, keys that add
texture and vocals that set a mood, but never dominate the arrangement, are
among the most stunning for black metal this year. Blut Aus Nord
have always been masters of ambience, and the new album is no exception. The
group creates a despairing atmosphere, divergent from the black metal methods
of its past endeavors yet somehow not far out of that territory. It's already
been said by critics that Blut Aus Nord may be
veering more into a death metal or funeral doom direction here. You can hear
that at turns, but what is truly most evident is an extreme music group that
will not be bound to definitions, or at least is willing to experiment to ascend
beyond what we think we know of a genre.
The
existential joy for listeners, though, will be exploring the songs and
concepts. For all its volume and flame, Blut Aus Nord has
always been at its very heart an intellectual band. Its songs have always
explored faith, humanity and the many shades of darkness therein. "Deus Salutis Meae," the
album's title, roughly translates to "the god of my
salvation." Let that sit with you as you take what is an accomplished
recording, if ever there was one.
