About.com Rating



On their latest release, the French black metal trio Blut Aus Nord steers back toward more traditional black metal song structures, but this is a band that always has a few tricks up its sleeve.

Odinist: The Destruction Of Reason By Illumination is atmospheric and bleak, a swirling melange of guitars, drums and keyboards. The songs are more accessible than last year's Mord, and it's a more focused effort as well.


There are memorable guitar riffs and some moments of melody alongside the ominous, dense arrangements.

The vocals are not in the foreground, but used as another instrument buried in the mix. What the mysterious black metal rasps are conveying is unknown, since they are unintelligible and Blut Aus Nord rarely publishes lyrics for their music. Odinist: The Destruction Of Reason By Illumination is one of those albums that you absorb bit by bit, listen by listen. And after several spins, its dark secrets become more apparent.