Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Blut aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta I: Fathers of the Icy Age (1996)

Whatever it is that Blut Aus Nord have become nowadays any time spent with their earlier full-length releases is usually time well spent. Before the industrial, dark ambient and outright avant-garde elements fully took root in the band’s sound, they could turn out some of the richest atmospheric black metal ever produced. The sophomore release is one of the real gems of the BAN back catalogue in this regard. It is expansive without being progressive, it possesses a real knack for letting melodies dance into the harshest of environments and is very well played throughout.

I am a sucker for a good layer of audible bass being present on a black metal album. Drudkh’s Microcosmos being one such example of when this has worked well. By way of comparison, MVIFotIA is less obvious but even by just pushing my hearing a little further into the record, guest bassist Ira Aeterna’s four string prowess really shines without overwhelming any of the other component parts. More prominent in the mix are the lush and rich melodies of the guitar played by Vindsval. Alongside the colder riffs that are omnipresent in the background it seems throughout the record; it is these soaring notes that fill the mind as you listen to the record. Given they deliver such a warm presence it is hard to see how the album still comes off as such a cold experience overall.

The grim vocals of Vindsval give way to the occasional clean chant which does not always sit well with me. They are not Bathory levels of bad or anything, but they do provide an unwelcome distraction when they are deployed. It is hard to criticise much of anything else on the album though. Yes, the drums are but a dull thud most of the time, but I cannot cope with that to a point. Keys are used sensibly – no Emperor like grandeur present here folks – but whenever they are deployed, they are used to give just the slightest edge or sheen to an element or section of a track.

Although not reaching the higher end of the star-rating, the sophomore album from BAN is still a great record. The odd meandering note, the cleaner vocal passages, and the overall lack of compositional completeness (the album actually sounds like it is missing drums full-stop in some places) detract from anything above four stars for me but for anyone wanting to capture the “old” BAN sound before some more modern and varied influences came into play should pick up a copy of this album.