I know that this will sound quite silly to some of you, but the strong need that I always felt in exploring the works of the French Black Metal trio Blut Aus Nord was simply attributed to the strength of this band's unusual, but also grammatically incorrect, name! Well, when it comes to Black Metal, experience has taught me that the most experimental of outfits tend to originate from countries whose scenes are relatively small (if not nonexistent) and "Odinist: The Destruction Of Reason By Illumination", the band's sixth studio effort, comes as the best proof to the above argument.

I have heard many people in the past drawing comparisons between the French trio and the legendary Norwegian Black Metal outfit Mayhem and much as they seem to be totally different beasts at first glance, both in terms of importance and musical direction, there are indeed some similarities. These similarities are not only in they way both bands understand and use their bleak and disturbing melodies, melodies that are audible in each and every one of their compositions, but also in their treatment of vocals, which seem to work more as a secondary instrument whose purpose is to enhance the already existing gloomy atmosphere of each composition.

Listening to this thirty six minute release is not supposed to evoke feelings of joy or happiness and that is clearly audible from the very first note of the opening instrumental track "An Element Of Flesh". This short intro almost instantly managed to change my mood and that was ideal in the sense that it became much easier for me to get connected to the simple but atonal themes of both "The Sounds Of The Universe" and the same-titled composition "Odinist". Even though I felt that the production was not as supportive as it ought to be, both lacking in depth and power, nevertheless, W.D.Feld's challenging performances on the drums and Vindsval's haunting growls were enough to put me in a welcoming but also miserable state of trance - one that was so overwhelming and, at the same time, so exciting that I never really felt inclined to escape from. These two compositions are connected through their similar treatment of melody and rhythm and in doing so create an interesting antithesis with "A Few Shreds Of Thoughts" - a five minute song whose main epic/melodic theme will almost certainly catch your attention much faster that any of the remaining featured compositions. From that point onwards, the album becomes more technical and complicated in nature, especially in the treatment of rhythm, which reaches its peak in "The Cycle Of The Cycles" - the only song in this album which openly flirts with blastbeats.

Having listened to "Odinist: The Destruction Of Reason By Illumination" more times than I care to remember, I really cannot say whether what I was exposed to was indeed what I was originally hoping to hear from this trio. Even though I believe that this album was 'robbed' of a much deserved powerful sound, one that would make these seven compositions sound far more attractive to the ears of the average Black Metal fan, I still feel that it is an album worth getting your hands on. Who knows: maybe this will become for you the starting point of a long and fruitful relationship, which seems to have happened in my case!

***½

Review by John Stefanis