Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Blut aus Nord - The Work Which Transforms God (2003)

Another classic release that I get to review for my clan challenge.  Like my review for Filosofem this is another mechanised affair that takes some real close attention to get the best from.   The album is interspersed with ambient interludes that I normally don't get on with and see as a usual obstacle to the flow of a record but here they work seamlessly.  They allow tracks to breathe in and out of the listing either side of them, setting atmosphere perfectly and allowing for subtle infusion of dissonance that is another big factor in the sound of this album.

The whole album gives me the imagery of some giant part-humanoid/part-mechanised beast lumbering, stumbling and stuttering around some cavernous realm.  Partially blind but still so very in tune with its surroundings on some other near extra-sensory level.  Multiple limbs or feelers bashing against metallic and stone structures, sometimes chaotic as it thrashes around in it's trap giving a more traditional BM feel to the sound, whereas on other occasions much more subtle and measured in the awareness of the surroundings and able to translate this into the more dissonant and ambient parts of the record.

There's variety here to the sound, with more aggressive moments like Axis and The Supreme Abstract bashing and blasting their way through shorter bursts of energy.  At the same time the structure and poise to other tracks allow for an atmospheric and reflective build up using all the discordant, inharmonious and atonal tricks in the book to create fractious and unruly forms that follow no common structure.

This is an album to truly get lost in.  There's unexpected pace, time and tone changes that still catch me off-guard despite me having listened to the record on multiple occasions over the years.  The sum of all the moving parts is somehow tangible in form and reasoning despite the albums seemingly conscious attempts to be as incongruous as possible.  Album closer Procession of the Dead Clowns is one of my all time favourite closing rites to a record, dark, repetitive and smothering at the same time.  Brilliant album.