Blut Aus Nord is a black metal band from France. The band formed in 1994 and have since dominated the black metal scene with their brand of atmospheric annihilation. While this release may not be as good as their classic debut it is still black metal that should be held in the highest regard for it's vicious, cold atmosphere that would have most other metal musicians green with envy. This rerelease features three new epic pieces that clock in at just under thirty minutes.
The vocal performance on The Mystical Beast Of Rebellion is gut wrenching to say the least. Vindsval delivers a performance riddled with pain and struggle. The shrieks seem to be very distant and faded creating the effect of someone stranded in the woods calling out for help only to be abandoned and forgotten. The style brought forth is extremely fitting to the wicked conglomeration of sounds that is known as Blut Aus Nord.
The guitar tone used here is very raw and distorted but fits the tone of the album itself quite well. Tremolo picking is used a fair amount and manages to go by without becoming tedious. The Mystical Beast Of Rebellion proves to be an trance inducing album in some sections in the same manner as some of Electric Wizard's material (Dopethrone). The song structures are repetitive yet effective which adds even more depth to the already mindnumbing vibe the album puts out. The twilight zone esque closer for "The Fall Chapter III" adds a great flare to the track. The drumming featured here is very standard. It stays at a nearly constant pace throughout and rarely throws the listener for a loop (if ever). The shear atmosphere that is abundant in the album is more than enough to make up for this shortcoming. Sure, nothing in the performance could be deemed bad necessarily but a little variety wouldn't have hurt the album in anyway.
Overall Blut Aus Nord deliver what most fans have to come to expect, and that is in fact, extremely high quality black metal. This album is the musical equivalent of holding the reaper's hand as he guides you to the afterlife, this is the eye of a tornado. The album manages to have so many chaotic elements but be relaxing all in the same stride. If The Mystical Beast Of Rebellion wasn't enough the three new tracks featured are worth checking this out on their own. Highly recommended to fans of black metal and all things that reek of atmosphere.
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