Blut Aus Nord
Encyclopedia
Blut Aus Nord is a black metal
band from Mondeville, Calvados
, France
, which has incorporated avant-garde
elements in its music.
in 1995. The next three albums were recorded with the aid of session musicians. It is only recently that the group has had any permanent members apart from Vindsval.
The project's most critically acclaimed release is The Work Which Transforms God
, a concept album
which, in spite of being mostly instrumental with none of the lyrics made public, is meant to challenge the listener's prejudices and preconceptions about reality and various metaphysical
subjects. The album was named by Terrorizer Magazine
as one of its top 10 albums of 2003. So far, Vindsval has only allowed the lyrics from one of Blut aus Nord's full-length releases, Memoria Vetusta I, to be made public. According to journalist Avi Pitchon, "Blut Aus Nord are responsible, perhaps more so than any band, for the most recent evolution within black metal. 2003's 'The Work Which Transforms God' introduced us to the warped, collapsing mutation of 'black hole metal'; nowadays also called shoegazing
BM."
Vindsval is head of the underground French record label Appease Me..., which is home to several extreme metal acts, in addition to Blut aus Nord.
On their followup release, 2006's MoRT
, Blut aus Nord moved even further away from traditional black metal. The sound on MoRT is closer to avant-garde metal, comprising a mixture of dark and surreal noises and sounds that create a disturbing and bleak atmosphere.
Blut aus Nord's 2007 album Odinist: The Destruction of Reason by Illumination
(the subtitle being a quote from Aleister Crowley
), was leaked to the Internet on September 10, 2007. While the album's superficial sound is similar to that of MoRT, the album demonstrates a return to more traditional black metal songwriting and structure.
The sequel to Memoria Vetusta I, subtitled Dialogue with the Stars
, was released in February 2009. In June 2010 they released a LP entitled "What Once Was...Liber I" on Debemur Morti Productions. They are currently scheduled to re-release The Mystical Beast of Rebellion in early 2011 thru Debemur Morti with an additional CD of newly recorded material meant to act as a complimentry work to the original.
The name "Blut aus Nord" translates from German
as "Blood from the North", though the non-standard grammar suggests nautical jargon (a more standard phrasing would be "Blut aus (dem) Norden" or "Blut von Nord(en)," though cardinal directions are seldom used in spoken German to begin with).
injecting Streetcleaner
-era Godflesh
with an evil unpredictability". Vindsval, the vocalist and guitarist, made the following statement: BAN have dissociated themselves from nationalism, instead recognizing a kinship with "environmentalist black metal" groups such as Wolves in the Throne Room
.
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
band from Mondeville, Calvados
Mondeville, Calvados
-Economy:It is the home of Yachts Industries, manufacturer of Blubay and Yapluka brands of catamaran.-External links:**...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, which has incorporated avant-garde
Avant-garde music
Avant-garde music is a term used to characterize music which is thought to be ahead of its time, i.e. containing innovative elements or fusing different genres....
elements in its music.
Biography
Vindsval began a solo project, under the name "Vlad", in 1994. He released two demos before changing the project's name to Blut aus Nord, before the release of Ultima ThuléeUltima Thulée
Ultima Thulée is the first full-length studio album by black metal band Blut Aus Nord.-Track listing:#"Son of Hoarfrost" - 6:01#"Plain of Ida" - 8:52 #"From Hlidskjalf" - 7:42#"My Prayer Beyond Ginnungagap" - 5:10#"'Till I Perceive Bifrost" - 7:06...
in 1995. The next three albums were recorded with the aid of session musicians. It is only recently that the group has had any permanent members apart from Vindsval.
The project's most critically acclaimed release is The Work Which Transforms God
The Work Which Transforms God
The Work Which Transforms God is the fourth studio album by black metal band Blut Aus Nord. Candlelight re-released the album in 2005 including the EP Thematic Emanation of Archetypal Multiplicity as a second disc.-Track listing:#"End" - 1:50...
, a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
which, in spite of being mostly instrumental with none of the lyrics made public, is meant to challenge the listener's prejudices and preconceptions about reality and various metaphysical
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
subjects. The album was named by Terrorizer Magazine
Terrorizer Magazine
Terrorizer is an extreme music magazine published by Dark Arts Ltd. in the United Kingdom. It is released every four weeks with thirteen issues a year and features a 'Fear Candy' covermount CD, a twice yearly 'Fear Candy Unsigned' CD, and a double-sided poster.-1993:Terrorizer published its first...
as one of its top 10 albums of 2003. So far, Vindsval has only allowed the lyrics from one of Blut aus Nord's full-length releases, Memoria Vetusta I, to be made public. According to journalist Avi Pitchon, "Blut Aus Nord are responsible, perhaps more so than any band, for the most recent evolution within black metal. 2003's 'The Work Which Transforms God' introduced us to the warped, collapsing mutation of 'black hole metal'; nowadays also called shoegazing
Shoegazing
Shoegazing is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted there until the mid 1990s, with a critical zenith reached in 1990 and 1991...
BM."
Vindsval is head of the underground French record label Appease Me..., which is home to several extreme metal acts, in addition to Blut aus Nord.
On their followup release, 2006's MoRT
MoRT
MoRT is an avant-garde metal album by French black metal band Blut aus Nord, released in 2006.-Style:...
, Blut aus Nord moved even further away from traditional black metal. The sound on MoRT is closer to avant-garde metal, comprising a mixture of dark and surreal noises and sounds that create a disturbing and bleak atmosphere.
Blut aus Nord's 2007 album Odinist: The Destruction of Reason by Illumination
Odinist: The Destruction of Reason by Illumination
Odinist: The Destruction of Reason by Illumination is the sixth album by French avant-garde black metal band Blut aus Nord. It leaked to the Internet on September 10, 2007...
(the subtitle being a quote from Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...
), was leaked to the Internet on September 10, 2007. While the album's superficial sound is similar to that of MoRT, the album demonstrates a return to more traditional black metal songwriting and structure.
The sequel to Memoria Vetusta I, subtitled Dialogue with the Stars
Memoria Vetusta II - Dialogue with the Stars
Memoria Vetusta II – Dialogue with the Stars is the seventh album by French avant-garde black metal band Blut aus Nord. The album demonstrates more traditional black metal songwriting and structure.-Track listing:#"Acceptance: Aske" – 1:30...
, was released in February 2009. In June 2010 they released a LP entitled "What Once Was...Liber I" on Debemur Morti Productions. They are currently scheduled to re-release The Mystical Beast of Rebellion in early 2011 thru Debemur Morti with an additional CD of newly recorded material meant to act as a complimentry work to the original.
The name "Blut aus Nord" translates from German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
as "Blood from the North", though the non-standard grammar suggests nautical jargon (a more standard phrasing would be "Blut aus (dem) Norden" or "Blut von Nord(en)," though cardinal directions are seldom used in spoken German to begin with).
Musical style and conceptual elements
Blut Aus Nord's work has been described as the "sonic equivalent to ThornsThorns (band)
Thorns is a Norwegian black metal band that formed in 1989 and was part of the early Norwegian black metal scene. They made two highly influential demos in the early 1990s, Grymyrk and Trøndertun, but have only released one full-length album....
injecting Streetcleaner
Streetcleaner
Streetcleaner is the second release and the debut full length album by the band Godflesh, following the release of their self-titled EP in 1988. It was released in 1989 on Earache Records...
-era Godflesh
Godflesh
Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham, England. Originally known as Fall of Because, they formed in 1988 by Justin K. Broadrick and G.C. Green and disbanded in 2002. Godflesh's innovative music is widely regarded as a foundational influence on industrial metal and post-metal...
with an evil unpredictability". Vindsval, the vocalist and guitarist, made the following statement: BAN have dissociated themselves from nationalism, instead recognizing a kinship with "environmentalist black metal" groups such as Wolves in the Throne Room
Wolves in the Throne Room
Wolves in the Throne Room is a black metal band based in Olympia, Washington.Their sound is influenced by Scandinavian black metal, doom metal, dark ambient, crust punk, and folk music...
.
Current line-up
- Vindsval - vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
(Also in: Children of Maani, The Eye) - W.D. Feld - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, electronics, keyboards - GhÖst - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Session musicians
- Ogat - session bass on Ultima Thulee
- Ira Aeterna - session bass on Fathers of the Icy Age
- Taysiah - session vocals on The Work Which Transforms God
- Nahaim - session guitar on The Work Which Transforms God
Studio albums
- Ultima ThuléeUltima ThuléeUltima Thulée is the first full-length studio album by black metal band Blut Aus Nord.-Track listing:#"Son of Hoarfrost" - 6:01#"Plain of Ida" - 8:52 #"From Hlidskjalf" - 7:42#"My Prayer Beyond Ginnungagap" - 5:10#"'Till I Perceive Bifrost" - 7:06...
(1995) - Memoria Vetusta I – Fathers of the Icy Age (1996)
- The Mystical Beast of RebellionThe Mystical Beast Of RebellionThe Mystical Beast of Rebellion is the 3rd studio album by black metal band Blut Aus Nord. An expanded double-LP version with new material was released in December 2010; a 2-CD version with the new material followed shortly thereafter....
(2001) - The Work Which Transforms GodThe Work Which Transforms GodThe Work Which Transforms God is the fourth studio album by black metal band Blut Aus Nord. Candlelight re-released the album in 2005 including the EP Thematic Emanation of Archetypal Multiplicity as a second disc.-Track listing:#"End" - 1:50...
(2003) - MoRTMoRTMoRT is an avant-garde metal album by French black metal band Blut aus Nord, released in 2006.-Style:...
(2006) - Odinist: The Destruction of Reason by IlluminationOdinist: The Destruction of Reason by IlluminationOdinist: The Destruction of Reason by Illumination is the sixth album by French avant-garde black metal band Blut aus Nord. It leaked to the Internet on September 10, 2007...
(2007) - Memoria Vetusta II – Dialogue with the Stars (2009)
- 777 – Sect(s)777 – Sect(s)777 – Sect is the tenth full length album by French Black Metal band Blut Aus Nord. It is the first album in a trilogy, with the others being called 777 – The Desanctification and 777 – Cosmosophy.-Track listing:#"Epitome 1" – 7:57...
(28 April 2011) - 777 – The Desanctification777 – The Desanctification777 – The Desanctification is the eleventh full length album by French Black Metal band Blut Aus Nord. It was released on November 11, 2011.-Track listing:#"Epitome VII"#"Epitome VIII"#"Epitome IX"#"Epitome X"#"Epitome XI"#"Epitome XII"...
(11 November 2011) - 777 - Cosmosophy (2012) (expected)
EPs
- Thematic Emanation of Archetypal MultiplicityThematic Emanation of Archetypal MultiplicityThematic Emanation of Archetypal Multiplicity: Soundtracks for Scientists of Occult Synchretism is an EP by French black metal band Blut aus Nord, but it explores more industrial and avant-garde territory than the group's previous material, foreshadowing the direction the group would take on its...
(2005) - What Once Was... Liber I (2010)
Split releases
- Decorporation 10 (2004) – split with Reverence
- Dissociated Human Junction (2007) – split with Bloodoline, Reverence, and Karras.