Review: Blut aus Nord – Ethereal Horizons
Dreamy Horizon
For 30 years now, the Normandy Frenchmen Blut aus Nord have been a mainstay in European black metal, releasing albums of an insane variety. Whether it’s atmospheric, symphonic, dissonant, industrial or avant-garde, they’ve had releases of different styles that fans have enjoyed. My particular favorites of their expansive discography are Ultima Thulée, the Memoria Vetusta trilogy and Hallucinogen as I really enjoy Blut aus Nord’s ventures into the atmospheric and psychedelic realms. However, I’m not actually a fan of the industrial side and this might sound controversial, but I didn’t like The Work Which Transforms God as much as others have. After two Disharmonium releases that ventures into Lovecraftian dissonance territory, they are now on their 16th album release with Ethereal Horizons.
“Shadows Breathe First” opens the album, which tells us where Blut aus Nord’s sound is going with this iteration. One of the reoccurring elements with the sound on this effort is a more atmospheric approach in the guitar riffs, mixed with dark ambience while still remaining heavy on the drums. The clean vocal inclusion in some areas of the track is an interesting approach but works with the background music; it feels like a heavier Alcest in a way. The following track, “Seclusion,” shows off more of a ritualistic vibe throughout. It’s certainly something that you would zone yourself out of life to. “The Ordeal” comes next and it’s an intriguingly blended mixture of melody, atmosphere, ambiance and dissonance.
“The Fall Opens the Sky” is probably my favorite track on the album with a pretty strong opening section; it’s a great display of Blut aus Nord in their natural atmospheric habitat. Another favorite follows with “What Burns Now Listens” which thrives immensely in its atmospheric, grandiose feeling; mixed with the drumming here it all feels blissful. The dark ambient side of the band is shown with the two minute interlude in “Twin Suns Reverie.”
This is an OK (but too long) calm before the storm that is the 12-minute closing track, “The End Becomes Grace.” It begins aggressively which I feel the band develops well while maintaining the atmospheric and ritualistic vibes the album has utilized throughout. Twice in this track including the end, it feels like the momentum halts with dark ambient sections which don’t feel like they add anything personally and come across as unnecessary padding. Once that part is over the first time round, it goes back to what Blut aus Nord is best at with the graceful transitioning between the aggressive and melodic styles.
Ethereal Horizons feels like a more accessible Hallucinogen in a way. Overall, it fares best when blending the band’s aggressive side with their atmospheric one in euphoric harmony. The guitars in particular remind me a lot of Hallucinogen which I like a lot while also having a heavier Alcest vibe as mentioned before. However, its dark ambient elements are the weakest parts of the album and drag it down especially on parts that feel like nothing is going on like the closing track. It’s not their worse by far as I liked this more than their last album, but I do think it could’ve been much better, especially as it thrives spectacularly on the atmospheric black metal aspect. However, if Blut aus Nord does continue adventuring on with this sound, I would like to see where it goes next in a future follow-up because this feels like the first chapter, getting to grips with a new style.
3.5/5 Flaming Toilets ov Hell
Ethereal Horizons is out now via Debemur Morti Productions.
