Mort - Blut Aus Nord

After the interesting if not wholly successful flirtiation with ambient/industrial that was their 2005 EP 'Thematic Emanations of Archetypal Multiplicity', the ever esoteric Blut Aus Nord collapsed in upon themselves once more with this, their 2006 full length 'MoRT'. Whilst some elements from the earlier EP do remain- the disturbing chanting, swathes of eerie feedback ambience and periods of silence, weird, lethargic, tortured riffs and mechanical, alien-sounding, programmed drums that clatter and craw in the background like some ancient malfunctioning machine- 'MoRT' pushes this weirdness to a whole new level that has alienated and delighted the band's fans ...  Read the complete review

Where 'The Mystical Beast of Rebellion' was disappointing for being too generic in its approach to black metal, 'MoRT' sees Blut aus Nord emerge from the other side as a tedious industrial band, where each song still sounds exactly the same. The French band's move towards an industrial/electronic sound seems like an act of disappointing trend-hopping in the wake of others in the field such as the superior ...And Oceans, and no amount of unusual capitalisation in its title can make 'MoRT' seem as enigmatic as its creators obviously wish it to be. Sure, at first the discordant keyboard tone, infrequent whispered vocals and buzzsaw-like effects create an ...  Read the complete review