Work Which Transforms God

Blut Aus Nord | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 17, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Candlelight
• ASIN: B00020Q37C
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #94,297 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cavernous, bleak, and dissonant, July 9, 2004

By 

Phillip Simonis (Orange County) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Work Which Transforms God (Audio CD)

Work which creates cognitive dissonance in the minds of the holy. This a soundscape completely devoid of anything positive or hopeful in this world. Before listening to this album, I thought songs like "Over Fjell Og Gjennom Torner" by Darkthrone, "Thy Legions Come" by Dark Funeral or something from Burzum's back catalog was bleak. Blut Aus Nord is a new progession of evil. The feel is cavernous, giving an added dimension not seen enough of in black metal. Music inspired by theology myths of the depths of hell I would think. Blut Aus Nord will have the grim minded smiling from ear to ear.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The supreme abstract, April 14, 2006

By 

A Flickering (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Work Which Transforms God (Audio CD)

I remember the time this album fully clicked with me. Driving through northern Norway, with a powerful river gushing a green storm alongside us, this album seemed to be at perfect harmony with the surroundings. Actually, this would seem otherworldly to the majority, and in context to society it surely is, but in my mind this is the musical representation of that river, and thus this album is surely more worldly than anything motivated by populism (this applies to pretty much all black metal though, really). Of course, that is an entirely subjective interpretation, I'm not sure if Blut Aus Nord had nature in mind as a dominant theme when recording this.

Disregarding the first paragraph for a moment, even highly experienced people in the realm of black metal would probably tell you that there is something distinctly alien about this recording. The dissonant, sweeping melodies could almost be "The Howling Of God". A pummelling drum-machine surges them forward. Like somebody mentioned in an earlier review, drum-machines almost always make an album less natural. Why does it work here, then? Perhaps this album portrays the isolation of nature, rather than nature itself, and thus the less-human this sounds, the better? It seems to mechanically symbolise nature's efficiency and power, and so rather than just giving us the image of an insignificant machine doing its work, it actually adds to the album's organic feel. The drums are not only superbly executed, they're superbly produced, and the same could be said for the whole album. Vocal howls and screams are present in the background, but nothing obvious. They're almost indistinguishable from the guitar melodies at times, and the subtlety works extremely well.

Like most releases I heap praise upon, this one creates ambience in abundance. Like all ambient releases, this one needs to be listened to as one, as it creates a "sonic vortex" which Thamuz describes. Silence is used to great effect, contrasting beautifully with the music, creating plenty of tension and adding to the haunting atmosphere. Indeed, one track is 18 seconds of silence in preparation for the epic monster of a last track. These things have already been reflected on by others though, so I'll move on.

Blut Aus Nord have certainly developed immensely upon the ideas they started in "Mystical Beast of Rebellion" which, to be fair, is quite a weak release in comparison. There's lots of variation in pace now, at times ominously slow, at times roaringly fast. The preceding release was completely devoid of this, which was its main fault along with it never really feeling complete or purposeful, which they've also corrected here. The discordance that MBOR explores is fully recognised on this one, and like I mentioned before, the production is more fitting too.

It's interesting that the album is apparently quite accessible to those with an interest in black metal, considering how unusual it is. On the other hand, the atmosphere is so overwhelming I guess it's not that surprising. Another thing I've noticed is that the majority were hailing this album as the band's greatest 6 months ago, but now almost everyone seems to be favouring their first two releases. Though good, I've always felt that this one obliterates them both, but if you enjoy this one don't hesitate to check out their earlier material, in particular Ultima Thulee. As long as you're not expecting something quite this good, you won't be disappointed.

All that's left to say is: Pick up "The Work Which Transforms God" as soon as you can - it's an absolute blinder.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EERIE., December 23, 2005

By 

americanmurder - See all my reviews

This review is from: Work Which Transforms God (Audio CD)

If Throbbing gristle reformed as a black metal act. They would be called Blut Aus Nord. This album is everything misanthropic. Buy it now.