The New Music Thread : The North Edition
A brand new Blut Aus Nord album is always a cause for rejoicing. Only a single listen as yet, but it contains all the the usual psych-tinged hynotism we have come to expect from the french black metallers in recent times. It may be fanciful on my part as I haven't studied the lyrics as yet, but atmospherically it seems to tap into the feeling of the environmental zeitgeist for me, in a similar way to Caio Lemos' Kaatayra project. I'm enjoying it.
A brand new Blut Aus Nord album is always a cause for rejoicing. Only a single listen as yet, but it contains all the the usual psych-tinged hynotism we have come to expect from the french black metallers in recent times. It may be fanciful on my part as I haven't studied the lyrics as yet, but atmospherically it seems to tap into the feeling of the environmental zeitgeist for me, in a similar way to Caio Lemos' Kaatayra project. I'm enjoying it.
I got alerted last minute to the Bandcamp listening party for this and managed to join to hear most of the album last week. Definitely a strong album but I need to get a few more listens in before deciding if I will add to my BAN vinyl collection.
Also, just seen the new Nordicwinter album has landed (one of my favourite Canadian artists), sat in bed with my headphones on letting it soothe my soul with it’s icy and desolate fingers.
Andy Marshall of Saor fame has released the third album under his Fuath alter-ego today. Just ordered a vinyl copy from Bandcamp and am checking it out as I type. Fuath are less focussed on the epic paeons to Andy's homeland Scotland than Saor and play in a more Pagan / Melodic black metal style than Saor's atmospheric black metal, whilst still retaining some of the latter's grandeur. It's all good so far anyway.
Edit: Just as a point of interest, I have listened to it back-to-back on Spotify and Bandcamp and the BC version sounds much better.
Here is my review of the aforementioned Fuath album:
Fuath was originally conceived as a one-off project by Saor's Andy Marshall when he released "I" back in 2016 as an outlet for an album of atmospheric black metal compositions that were more traditionally frostbitten and aggressive than the sweeping, celtic-themed, cinematic paeons to his Scottish homeland that was the usual output of Saor. He obviously felt he had more to say within that sub-sub-genre though because here at the dawning of 2026 the project is onto its third album, predictably entitled "III".
The first Fuath album was a raw-sounding sort of affair compared to his Saor material, with a fairly sparse and frosty production job, but the second had a much fuller sound and some symphonic touched which gave it a more epic feel, but at the cost of the icy edge feeling somewhat blunted. "III" sits nicely somewhere between the two with a frostier feel than the previous album, but with a sweeping, wintry majesty that reaches beyond the scope of "I", like an icier version of Saor.
With only four lengthy tracks featuring in its 43 minutes runtime, it is an album that is inevitably built on a certain degree of repetition. Marshall is such a great writer of black metal riffs and expansive, atmospheric flourishes, though, that the tracks never become boring, but fill the mind's eye with epic wintry scenes that leave the listener feeling awed and inspired, like a musical David Lean. For me, this has always been Marshall's strength, his ability to successfully convey his own obvious love of, and respect for, the natural world through his music to even the most jaded listener. That the man is also an eminently gifted musician as well as songwriter is proved by the fact that he plays all the instruments himself, including real, rather than programmed, drums.
This is probably my favourite of the three Fuath albums as it is a perfect blend of raw and frosty black metal and cinematic imagery, making deft use of synths to round out the sound with a little more subtlety than was employed on "II", yet when at its rawest it is a match even for the likes of Paysage d'Hiver (try "The Sluagh" for proof). Andy Marshall has, over the course of six Saor and three Fuath albums, earned the right to similar acclaim afforded to US atmo-black giants like Panopticon and Wolves in the Throne Room. Whilst Fuath has yet to provide an album quite as breathtaking as Saor's "Aura" or "Forgotten Paths", "III" has left me with the certainty that this is merely a matter of time.
4.5/5
Also, coming tomorrow, January 9th is the brand new album from Ruins of Beverast, the first for 5 years, entitled Tempelschlaf.
A couple of tracks are up for preview on Bandcamp: