Blut aus Nord - Disharmonium - Undreamable Abysses (2022)Release ID: 37026
Blut aus Nord never fail to intrigue and blow away expectations. While some of their releases are thematically linked (the Memoria Vetusta and 777 trilogies), the vast majority of them explore entirely new sounds. Despite this creativity, in the near 30 years of of this French entity's existence, they've released very little that I don't get a lot out of. For Disharmonium, Vindsval and co. have seemingly delved into a Lovecraftian nightmare, with the result being a swirling, dissonant soundscape of black metal horror. Anyone that knows my tastes and interests will know that this is a recipe for audio bliss for me, but I have to admit that I wasn't immediately taken in by the album. While I quickly appreciated the sounds on offer, the tracks were all converging into a seemingly repetitive mass of intense percussion, dissonant guitar and wails from the abyss. Thankfully repeated listens have allowed each track to form their own identity in my metal cortex, and my enjoyment has since skyrocketed.
Opener Chants of the Deep Ones is the obvious highlight for me, and I do think that's partly due to Vindsval's audible black metal vocals having much more of a presence than they have for the remaining tracks. There are quite a few times on other tracks where I believe his vocals are present, but they're so submerged in the mire that I can't be all that certain what I'm hearing. Perhaps this release will open up further to me after even more time, but I don't believe The Work Which Transforms God is in any danger of losing it's position as my favourite Blut aus Nord album. That said, I haven't been this excited for the band since the completion of the 777 trilogy, so I'll happily take this for what it is. As a final comment, I love it when an album cover 100% encapsulates the music found within, and this is definitely the case here.
Black metal is still not my strong suit, despite what my recent listenings and review counter might suggest. So when I reviewed 2019's Hallucionogen and praised it as a great album, I knew that Blut aus Nord were a well respected atmo black metal act, but I was not expecting the drastic change in direction that the band has traversed over those twenty-five years. While the electronics are still undoubtedly Blut aus Nord, they have evolved over time from dungeon synth to ambient, industrial and psychedelia.
That last one is the most fascinating since the last record felt like a psychedelic trip while listening to it. It also seems to have attracted the fancy of Blut aus Nord since their new album, Disharmmonium - Undreamable Abysses, is doubling down on the psychedelics once again. In fact, one could listen to this record and call it Blut aus Nord by way of Oranssi Pazuzu!
That comparison goes even beyond the heavy psych comparison. the harmonic progression of this album is quite obtuse as well. Given the atonal qualities of songs like "Tales Of The Old Dreamer" and "Neptune's Eye", one might have a hard time believing that band did not have a hand involved with this. But Blut aus Nord manage to keep their etheral roots as these soundscapes are gorgeous! The melodic leads are not drowned out by an wacky, progressive song style or excessive percussive elements. The bass lines are not the most fruitful I've heard, hell they aren't even the most fruitful on a Blut aus Nord album, but they have some genuine heft, which is highly beneficial to this albums production since the percussion does not contain the same aforementioned weight. Kick drum is slightly overmixed, but a lot of the cymbal work is lacking. A thick underlying bass to emphasize chord or style changes compliments extremely well. As for the vocals, they are severely lacking, but the little bit of it we do get is fine enough; it's more Lovecraft-ian worship, but rather a commentary of those works rather than just a retread, which I enjoyed diving into.
It's almost ironic that Blut aus Nord released Hallucionogen around the same time another French based ABM band, The Great Old Ones, released their Lovecraft-ian work Cosmicism. To compare them is fair game in my opinion and Blut aus Nord stepped their game up here. This is a band that could release whatever they want and still get a passing grade from many music critics in the extreme metal sphere, but Blut aus Nord created the superior album here. The Great Old Ones made a great ABM record, Blut aus Nord crafted an experience with Disharmonium - Undreamable Abysses.
Best songs: Chants Of The Deep Ones, Tales Of The Old Dreamer, Neptune's Eye, That Cannon Be Dreamed, The Apotheosis of The Unnamable
