Band:	Blut Aus Nord
Album:	Disharmonium - Nahab
Style:	Atmospheric black metal
Release date:	August 2023

01. Hideous Dream Opus #1
02. Mental Paralysis
03. The Endless Multitude
04. Hideous Dream Opus #2
05. The Crowning Horror
06. Queen Of The Dead Dimension
07. The Black Vortex
08. Nameless Rites
09. Hideous Dream Opus #3
10. The Ultimate Void Of Chaos
11. Forgotten Aeon

Nearly 30 years into their run, Blut Aus Nord sure aren’t running out of ideas anytime soon.

The release of last year’s Disharmonium – Undreamable Abysses appeared to signal a considerable shift sound – wise for these titans of French black metal. With its eerie cover of a Cthulhian – esque, tentacled being, the music within served as more than a complement, the band descending deeeeeep into the murky depths of an intoxicating, dark, and altogether powerful psychedelia.

It would be a reasonable assumption that, given the similarity in its title, 2023’s Disharmonium – Nahab more or less follows this theme. The key, however, is that this album is a continuation of its predecessor, not a clone. BAN’s trademark “swirly, wobbling dissonance” is here in spades, albeit in the more nauseating and hallucinatory manifestation it took on Undreamable Abysses. Whereas that album, however, had a bit of an atmospheric and “floating” feeling, Nahab is considerably more rhythmic and riff – heavy. For the die hard fans well – versed with the Blut Aus Nord discography, one could fairly say the sound here sits somewhere between that of MoRT and the 777s, especially Desanctification.

And yet, if you’ve developed that level of familiarity with Blut Aus Nord, you know that they are one of the prime examples of a band who never really do anything twice. There are more than enough new ideas at play here to make Disharmonium – Nahab its own animal, while still calling back to Undreamable Abysses as well as other releases in the BAN catalog. The unexpected sense of ambiance in places is particularly noticeable, as towards the end of “The Endless Multitude” or on the various “Hideous Dream Opus” tracks. It is also quite difficult to establish exactly where the line is drawn here between the black metal and the grinding industrial sides of Blut Aus Nord’s personality, the two melding into each other in a manner truly puzzling, but which serves to only make the music that much more alluring (just give “The Black Vortex” a whirl).

Blut Aus Nord have long displayed a fondness for releasing music as part of a series (Memoria Vetusta, 777, Liber), when a particular method of composing or aesthetic motif has roused the interest of Vindsval and company. Currently the band appear to be on a real Lovecraft/cosmic horror kick, a kick that has once again resulted in them changing up their game for a fresh twist on not only their own songwriting techniques, but black metal as a whole. If there is one thing this band ought be remembered for, when all is said and done, it’s their penchant for consistently staying relevant and redefining themselves over time. If there’s a third Disharmonium on the horizon from here, mark me as a happy rider aboard that train.

* Nyarlathotep is calling, Keziah Mason. You’d do well to answer. *