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Blut Aus Nord: Ultima thulee
18/01/11 || The Duff
Listen up faggots, and let me tell you of a little thing called THE FRENCH REVOUTION. It started out about seven years ago with the albums of but two bands, Deathspell Omega and Blut Aus Nord. Thing is, both bands’ respective debut efforts didn’t quite captivate as the milestones “Si Monumentum Requieres” and “The Work Which Transforms God”, released by Deathspell Omega and Blut Aus Nord in 2003 and 2004 respectively; these drastically transformed the scene, but what came before was appreciated amidst smaller, more exclusive crowds probably due to being of a nature altogether more traditional black metal – fifteen years on, however, due to a surging popularity, Blut Aus Nord’s “Ultima Thulee” is considered an underground masterpiece, and to some even more select a grouping than their initial fanbase unsurpassed by even their modern day masterworks. Consider yourselves well and truly educated, bitches.
There are signs of what the band’s later, darker manifestations would become, particularly the swirling guitar lines buried in thick layers of distortion, but earliest But Aus Nord is quite different from “The Work Which Transforms God” and particularly their even more caustic, claustrophobic and hypnotic affairs “MoRT” and “Odinist”; most noticeable are the presence of more ostentatious keys and the absence of haunting, echoe-y melodies. The vocals of Vinsdval are also a lot less creepy, less emotive, and of a more regular black metal fare, the music more spacious, drawn out and even positive, more ensconced in the realms of folk, light-doom and nature.
One of the flaws I find with “Ultima Thulee” is that it gets bogged down too much into repetition, the band being quite inexperienced at song-crafting this early on in its career. Also of note is the less rich nature of the music, almost lifeless in comparison to the finer latter-day works – it’s like the scope of masterpiece “Dialogue with the Stars” but much less of the finesse, in part due to the downgraded production job that leaves the final affair quite detached. Frosty, bleak, six tracks (and two interludes) comprising thick, warm guitars, epic compositions with adequate musicianship and unfortunately less identity than later endeavors make “Ultima Thulee” in my mind the least essential offering the band has produced.
- Information
- Released: 1995
- Label: Impure Creations Records
- Website: Blut Aus Nord MySpace
- Band
- Vindsval: vocals, guitars
- W.D. Feld: drums, keyboards, electronics
- Ogat: bass
- Tracklist
- 01. The Son of Hoarfrost
- 02. The Plain of Ida
- 03. From Hlidskjalf
- 04. My Prayer Beyond Ginnungagap
- 05. Till’ I Perceive Bifrost
- 06. On The Way to Vigrid
- 07. Rigsthula
- 08. The Last Journey of Ringhorn
