The Work which Transforms God

Yer Metal is Olde: Blut Aus Nord – The Work Which Transforms God

Yer Metal is Olde: Blut Aus Nord – The Work Which Transforms God

“Before we dive headfirst into today’s induction, I want to address the impressively large, off-salmon-colored pachyderm that’s currently occupying a large space in the corner of the room. Black metal, especially in the late nineties and early 2000s, wasn’t all that terrifying, despite what their chief songwriters would have you believe. Behind all the church arsons, bullshit posturing, literal back-stabbing, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and murder, the music didn’t even come close to attaining a faint whiff of what they were trying to achieve aesthetically.” And then, transformation.

Cult of Erinyes – Blessed Extinction Review

Cult of Erinyes – Blessed Extinction Review

“Man, I do love me some Blut Aus Nord. Ever since their landmark 2003 album, The Work Which Transforms God, the rebellious French “trio” (are they actually a band?) set a new standard for uncomfortably cold, ridiculously unpredictable black metal, inspiring future robe-wearers of the world to put down their torches and pick up a copy of Streetcleaner on vinyl. One such band to follow in their grimy footsteps is Belgium’s Cult of Erinyes, who have returned with their second album (and fourth overall release since their inception in 2009), Blessed Extinction. Have these upstarts taken the tools given to them by Vindsval and company to usurp the throne from the French masters of the frozen arts?” Is any French throne really guarded all that well? I think not!

Spektr – Cypher Review

Spektr – Cypher Review

“Mechanical dissonance, black metal, experimental tones – all things alluring, no? To a select few individuals with a taste for the twisted, anyway. It wouldn’t be inaccurate to say that the French seem to have an affinity for black metal with a twisted, experimental tinge. With bands like Deathspell Omega and the highly influential Blut aus Nord pioneering the dissonant, mangled tones, it’s no surprise that black metal outfit Spektr also hail from the same shores. They do have one rather unique aspect to the sound that sets them quite apart from such peers; that being the total absence of vocals, which is rather unusual for both black metal and metal as a whole.” Noctus is our resident expert on bleak, experimental black metal, so we called him in to discuss this grim, instrumental black metal opus. Did I mention its an instrumental black metal album?

Dodecahedron – Dodecahedron Review

Dodecahedron – Dodecahedron Review

“When I was first cutting my teeth as a reviewer over at the long defunct Unchain the Underground, I had the distinct honor of reviewing Blut Aus Nord’s 2003 opus The Work which Transforms God. I recall it distinctly being one of the most difficult reviews I ever had to write. The music the band created was new, extreme, pummeling, challenging and ultimately difficult on a level which few records I’d ever heard before were. It offered up an extremity for which I was not prepared. I could tell, though, that it was a revolutionary record. It was something special; incredibly special… extreme, abstract, brilliant, innovative and done in a way that I was not ready for. I really, really hated it.” Nearly one decade later, what the hell will AMG do with Dodecahedron?