Odinist - The Destruction of Reason by Illumination

There is no doubt that Odinist occupies an odd place in But Aus Nord's discography. After two largely melodic affairs, the band settled into creating some dark, discordant material that got progressively more "difficult" and depending on the listener, more rewarding (I would be one of those latter listeners). This culminated with Mort, a messy, but brilliant analysis of death. Many folks see Odinist as concluding a trilogy of sorts that started with The Work that Transforms God, then Mort, and finally Odinist. Taken in this light, one might see Odinist as somewhat inferior to those other two, as it is a much more straightforward album compared to those two....but I like to look at it as the awkward middle child in between Mort and Dialogue with the Stars.

Like Mort, Odinist is a short burst of an album, clocking in under 40 minutes. Also like Mort, there is plenty of discordant playing and swirling, descending structures. However, with Odinist, I also feel that the brilliance that is Dialogue with the Stars was beginning to emerge. The drums, although still programmed like most early and mid era Blut Aus Nord albums, climbs out from the sludgery of Mort (hmmm...not a word, but perhaps it should be....) and returns to more straightforward blast beats interspersed with some mid-tempo sections. It's perhaps not the best programmed drums from Blut Aus Nord, however this band has always been a cut above when it comes to drum machine work, as there is enough dynamic tension going on with subtle variations and fills to keep it interesting. The guitar work and tones are really the stars here, contributing to an excellent overall atmosphere. The riffs are much more fast paced than Mort, but they also hold their riffs for a bit longer, giving the album a more structured and even melodic sound at times. This is the part of the album that heralds the coming of the follow up album Dialogue of the Stars, which is a modern masterpiece, IMO. Occasionally, there is even the kind of lead guitar work that would dominate it's follow up. Lyrically the album follows the same magickal direction that prior work has dwelled on, and this suits me just fine. I am well versed in magickal systems, so the lyrics and concepts of Bult Aus Nord have always been a highlight for me.

I listened to this album a few times before writing this to make sure the rating was reflective of how I really felt about it because it does, as I previously mentioned, occupy a difficult spot in the Blut Aus Nord discography, sandwiched as it is between one of the bands more dark, challenging works, and one of their most epically melodic ones. I think 85% represents well what this album means to me, as I do return to it quite often, and like most work by this band, it does grow on me with each successive listen. I think there is lots to like here, especially for fans of the band, but as other reviewers have noted, it's probably not the best album to start with for Blut Aus Nord neophytes because of its "in-between" sound.

Odinist is a continuation of the style heard on The Work Which Transforms God and turns away from the winding chaos that is MoRT. This is an album that just feels comfortable where it is, a bit too comfortable. It sounds more simple and streamlined than previous BaN efforts. There isn't as much of an effort to reach the heights of hellishness that were seen on the past two albums, and instead we hear something that just feels like a beta version of The Work Which Transforms God. While this is satisfactory for Blut aus Nord, ultimately this feels like that and nothing more.

Everything that Blut aus Nord is known for is here and done as expected. The winding, distorted guitar storms and the industrial wasteland atmosphere are both here as they would be on any other Blut aus Nord album. The problem here is that they aren't utilized with the same tenacity, and the only song with much distinction is the solemn and icy title track. Every other song just sort of comes and goes without distinguishing itself, sort of like watching a graduation ceremony when nobody you care about is getting called up and graduating. The sheer mind-bending hell that other albums would put you through never comes out in full on Odinist. In addition to only being "a little" brutal, it's also only "a little" atmospheric in that the atmosphere is there, but never feels as thick, oppressive, or engrossing as before. The riffs, drums, and dirges feel like something they've done before, but with less zeal and without any kind of riff or atmospheric piece taking center stage. It's okay as an album and nothing is really done wrong, but not enough is done right and it feels like TWWTG running on half-throttle.

The reason I rate this lower than something totally atonal and almost unmusical like MoRT is due to the fact that that album has something that Odinist doesn't, purpose. MoRT is thick, soupy dread in ambient audio form, great for terrifying people and creating a aura of filth and decay. The Work Which Transforms God was an album that pushed distortion and apocalyptic atmosphere to its peak and gave us some songs that are rarely ever touched on terms of terror and quality. Odinist just felt like more of the same without the same amount of otherworldly fury, like a simpler, more streamlined version of older material. It resembles what I imagine what a bunch of "standard Blut aus Nord" tracks would sound like. When dealing with a band known for being one of the heights of strangeness, having songs described as regular isn't a good sign. While it is satisfactory in many ways, and will likely satiate fans, I don't see Odinist as sticking with Blut aus Nord or their listeners very much.

The one saving grace of Odinist is that it sounds like Vindsval was at least trying to fix everything that was wrong with MoRT. There's a more distinct "black metal" feel in this overall (the industrial influence has been relegated to the presence it has on Work Which Transforms God, although this album still sounds slightly more mechanical than Work does in the riff melodies). The music is gradual, but rarely slows to the same dripping crawl that MoRT spent the majority of its runtime fucking around with. Repetition is emphasized in the riffs, but they also effectively bleed into one another. The "consonant dissonance" of Blut Aus Nord's trademark riffs is seen here with one of the most equal balances of opposing forces they have managed even to this day. Riffs do not start pleasant and end in turmoil, nor does beauty emerge out of a rough and ragged framework. Every riff simply maintains the tension it initially established, with only the abstract idea of "black metal riffs" being used as the base to hold the strange melodies together. All things considered, this is a very cohesive, complete album with a distinct and unique sound created by a professional, established artist. There's even a philosophical twist to the music, although something tells me most Blut Aus Nord fans don't pay a lot of attention to that stuff. I know I really don't--it's kind of difficult to get into the message behind the music when the band doesn't publish any of the lyrics. The music comes first, and this is well known even though a nuanced message lays behind the tones of the album, which is respectable.

Still, I just can't enjoy Odinist, and I'm not entirely sure why. It could be due to that fact that I got into Blut Aus Nord as a straight black metal fan with (very) occasional forays into industrial music. As such, I wasn't expecting as much multi-directional, acrobatic drum programming as there is in Blut Aus Nord's mid-career. With the way the riffs seamlessly flew at you out of nowhere on the earlier stuff, attempting to listen to the gradual pace and slow evolution of albums like this is much more taxing on one's patience. It kind of sucks when albums suffer due to the strength of the artist's back catalog, but that's the price you gotta pay for setting the bar so high in the first place. Even though this is a legitimate work, the other albums of Blut Aus Nord just hit so many sweet spots in me with their riffs in a way that Odinist doesn't. Even when I'm being generous, the only good thing I can really say about this is "well I guess it's better than MoRT".

The short version of why I don't like Vindsval's industrial era is "I like it when he does pretty stuff and not scary stuff", the problem being all of Blut Aus Nord's albums have a mix of those two things. As of the writing of this review, Blut Aus Nord's music can be broken down into four distinct categories. First, there are the three main phases the band evolved through in their career, starting off with the "90s BM" era. That one encompasses everything the band did up until Mystical Beast and permeates a little bit of Work as well. The "industrial era" showed its first signs of coming into existence on Work Which Transforms, but only really fully blossomed on Thematic Emanation. It is (finally) beginning to die off here on Odinist. The third "phase" is the 777 era, which I haven't fully sorted out my opinions on yet (soon...) and then there's a fourth sub-category within those three phases. The Memoria Vetusta series, while still falling within the parameters of the other three phases, has a distinct flavor to its releases that demand a categorization of their own. While explaining these "eras" of Blut Aus Nord doesn't really do much other than allow me to sort their albums properly in my CD racks, grouping their releases into clusters as I have done does sort of demonstrate why I just can't bring myself to enjoy Odinist. Though it has its own flavor and retains the professionalism and songwriting cohesion this band always has, even with more of an outward black metal appearance, Odinist still remains firmly within the "industrial era" stylistically. That era in particular is consistently brought down by the same shortcomings: a) songs develop at a snail's pace and it becomes hard to maintain interest, b) this effect is further exacerbated due to the inherent inaccessibility of the aesthetic, and c) the songwriting flows too seamlessly--everything sounds the same. C) in particular is one of the paradoxical faults of Vindsval's composition. While the tangled web of riffs separated themselves from one another through rich melody in the "90s BM" era, in turn masking any songwriting faults, the constantly dreary tone of the industrial era Blut Aus Nord albums doesn't have that luxury. As a result, even if there were meant to be any climactic releases in an album like Odinist, they're completely lost in the treacherous haze.

Perhaps it would help to clarify with an example. Let's examine the title track, shall we? It starts off with a haunting, eerie melody, drums slowly kick in, and then about a minute in the song showcases a riff that, on its own, is genuinely really good. Unfortunately, as good as the riff is, I didn't even notice how nice it sounded until maybe the second repetition of it. The riff that came before it just sounded way too similar for it to have any sort of punchy effect. I would expect music that is supposed to be emotionally jarring like this is to be much more abruptly paced, but unfortunately everything on this album is so deliberate that in turn, none of it is surprising. The worst part is that said riff about a minute into the title track is probably one of the best moments for me on the album. Any other standout moments such as that one are woven into the music so thoroughly that they get lost in the fabric and no longer stand out. You'd think someone who manages to put out music that varies so widely from album to album could manage to incorporate a sense of dynamics into oppressive black metal such as this, but those thoughts would be sadly mistaken. Even when you know the "big riffs" are coming, they still have very little impact.

Out of everything that makes up Blut Aus Nord's "industrial era", Odinist sounds the most conventionally black metal. In addition, it sounds the most complete and fully realized out of anything in said era. However, none of those things necessarily make for an album I'm going to get spontaneous desires to listen to. The only thing that the tight composition of Odinist makes me realize is that even if the whole "black metal in the halls of an abandoned mental institution" feel Blut Aus Nord is obviously going for is done the best it possibly can be, Vindsval still just isn't really that good at creating that sort of atmosphere at the end of the day.

It works to Blut aus Nord's credit that one of the most standard and "average" albums in their discography would still stand out as excellent by another rubric. Considering their vast scope from the gorgeous melodies found in the Memoria Vetusta series to their ugly swirling opposites in MoRT and The Work Which Transforms God, it's tough even to think of Blut aus Nord as having a standard sound to fall back on. Between Odinist and The Mystical Beast of Rebellion however, I think they probably found crafted two fitting entry-level points into a terrifying discography. While Odinist was certainly fuelled by the same essential murk as TWWTG, the inaccessibility was evened out by some of Memoria Vetusta's melodic tact. It's chaotic as fuck by other black metal's standards, but in the context of Blut aus Nord it is fitting to see this as their "middle of the road" album.

I first heard this album several years ago and disliked it for its relatively moderate blend of beauty and chaos. Looking at it now, I really like it for the same reasons. I've been listening to Blut aus Nord more than probably any other band this year. They offer the sort of variety that could justify such obsessive listening, but I have found times where I'm torn between which side of BaN I want to hear. In the context of any of their masterpieces, Odinist pales, but taken all together it springs up as a near-perfect blend of what made either end of their spectrum so impressive.

After how exhausting MoRT must have been to write and record, it makes sense that Odinist, released a year later, would pull back on the reins. I don't think there would have been any way for Blut aus Nord to have improved over the two albums before this without completely shifting gears-- something they would do an album later on Dialogue with the Stars. Where their best dissonance was tiring on the ears, I don't think they push the listener as hard here. Their distinctive guitar tone and chord patterns are still conceivably alien to the ear of outsiders, but tracks like "Odinist" and "An Element of Flesh" carry enough hooks in the guitars to make perfect sense of it. Carrying on from TWWTG, the vocals are quietly muffled; the drums are cold and industrial. These traits didn't need to be changed bit in order to enable a fresh experience. Simply giving the guitars more accessible riffs to work with completely changes the dynamic.

I would probably show someone this album's title track if I was trying to engage a tentative newcomer to Blut aus Nord without completely deranging them. As an album, I think Odinist nails their grasp of dynamic much better than The Mystical Beast of Rebellion, which still managed to nail down the atmosphere in spite of falling short in other regards. Odinist is solid in virtually every sense. The only thing riding against it is the presence of far more powerful albums in this band's discography. If you were ever looking for a way into it however, here's your ticket.

With their now-legendary albums The Work Which Transforms God (2003) and MoRT (2006) under their belt and having crumbled the very foundations of black metal along with their consorts Deathspell Omega, the secluded French illuminati Blut Aus Nord rewrote, single-handedly, the physical and metaphysical aspects of this cathartic sub-genre just by those two albums alone; the rest not being dismissed of course because of their cold, icy atmosphere à-la Bathory and Enslaved up until The Mystical Beast of Rebellion (2001) where everything transmuted into a more chaotic and dissonant reincarnation of their sound which fascinated everyone in such a thoughtful, yet menacing manner.

A year after the musical black hole that transpired in MoRT, the trio wanted to return to a more traditional songwriting, while ascending forward at the same time. Odinist : The Destruction of Reason by Illumination – an album directly influenced by the wicked antics of British writer and occultist Aleister Crowley – was a great combination of both the albums mentioned above, while not entirely maintaining a solid, efficient ground for this revolutionary band. I had high expectations for this album. The album performs fairly well in its structure, but not in its shock factor.

Odinist starts things up with a gloomy, almost dispiriting one-minute and a half intro that opens the path to the dissonant journey that we all expect from Blut Aus Nord (the outro is the same, but only a tad bit longer). “An Element of Flesh” emerges as a sonic miasma, a colder one than their previous outings; i.e. a more distant and whispering range of vocals courtesy of the trio’s only recognizable voice, Vindsval, a revalorizing arsenal of melodic and mesmerizing riffs and of course, the usual absent display of bass lines and electronic, almost synthetic percussions, courtesy of GhÖst and W.D. Feld respectively. The chords are even higher than what we were used to with the bleak scenario of their previous albums. They are put in the forefront and have an almost Arabic texture to them that is quite soothing at times. With that being said, things are still entering in a complete dissonant world.

“A Few Shreds of Thoughts”, “Ellipsis” and “The Cycle of the Cycles” are the perfect examples of this statement because of their ethereal, almost empty traits. The riffs are as agonizing, the drums are as sharp and visceral and the vocals are as silent as before, although the third song I stated here ends with an excruciating approach vocal-wise and has a few blast beats along with it – an aspect never exploited in MoRT. It’s an astonishing rehash on their part. “A Few Shreds of Thoughts” distinguishes itself as well by its rapid, almost earth-pounding composition, drum and guitar-wise. “Ellipsis” is what you might call a rhythmic approach to the typical, mechanical misanthropy that Blut Aus Nord have created over the past nine years or so. On the other hand, you have songs like “The Sounds of the Universe”, “Odinist” and “Mystic Absolu” that are extremely well-adjusted to the otherworldly aspect of the band’s sound by being more melodic and somewhat harmonious. It’s a great approach, but every approach has its flaws.

The main flaw of this album is its lack of substance. Don’t get me wrong though. The artificiality of the band’s sound is well-preserved here, but it misses that devilish and industrial decay-like atmosphere that the band has so well demonstrated with The Work Which Transforms God and MoRT. Structure-wise, it’s an excellent album. Ambiance-wise, they could have done something more robust and vitriolic; it’s empty, plain empty, despite the more-than-satisfying production. The riffs are a little over-distant for me and the vocals, while being the most cogent of Vindsval up to date, don’t necessarily add up to anything. There is not a single change in his range of vocals.

Another flaw of this album that I mentioned earlier is the absence of the shock factor that I simply found remarkable when I listened to the metaphysical experience of the two albums that I spoke of again and again in this review. I will never deny its strength in its composition, but I will say that this is what you get as odds and ends, leftovers of a delicious meal.

This is what you might expect from a transition album though. The band confirmed it when they wanted to combine both artificiality and traditional songwriting more akin to their earlier albums. Mission accomplished. This is not a mediocre album, far from being the case. The creative musicianship displayed here is enough to make you appreciate the ideology behind this album. Still, you can’t help but feel that the band might have taken the right bus to musical commotion, not a hitchhiking trip for the heck of hitchhiking to this road.

Note : 75/100

Standout tracks : An Element of Flesh, The Sounds of the Universe, Odinist and A Few Shreds of Thoughts

If you were looking for a band that can use dissonance to it's advantage, welcome to the world of Blut Aus Nord. Odd time signatures, sporatic drum beats, odd guitar riffs, and an overall creepy atmosphere are the culmination of the release.

This band does a great job of incorporating lots of industrial elements, strange sampled sounds, and the guitar sound is very synthesized sounding as well. The strangest aspect of the guitar playing for me, is the band's ability to take away almost all "chunky" effects out of their guitar riffs. There is a very nice flow, if one could call it that, mainly because the guitars and background synthesis flow effortlessly, and without interruption (unless it was meant by the band).

It is, however a difficult listen. The oddity of this album is very trying on the ears, as there is no discernable beginning, middle and end of each song. They seem to flow into one another. Also, there are no aspects that stand out. It is more of an all-encompassing thing; all the parts working together to create a cohesive unit. For example, the vocals are right in line with the guitars, and atmospheric synth, so nothing stands out more than the other. Also, the drums are quite fuzzy, and are not very crisp, blending them somewhat into the rest of the instrumentation.

Be that as it may, this album is indeed interesting, and provides an interesting listen. Each song has similarities in song structure, but the riffs are far from boring. Aside from the dark ambient intro, this album progresses along a steadily meandering course, and the overall speed of the album doesn't change much.

I definitely put this up there with Deathspell Omega's "Fas-" in regards to overall strangeness and uneasiness that one may feel while listening to it. This isn't an album that I would particularly play on repeat for days on end, but it does have it's charm.