The Work Which Transforms God - Blut Aus Nord

Blut Aus Nord's fourth full length, 'The Work Which Transforms God', is a very alien and otherworldly sounding piece of black metal, which alternates dissonant crashing riffs and hammering rhythms with warped, drawn out cords and eerie, creeping drum beats. These are interspersed with ambient sections filled with ethereal keys and ominous bells alongside moments of pure silence. It fits together brilliantly as an album, evoking the nightmarish atmosphere of Clive Barker's 'Hellraiser' one minute then sucking the listener into a black hole the next with a hurricane of cacophonous sound, before lurching into cold, despondent, riffs and plodding industrial beats suggestive ...  Read the complete review

Blut aus Nord's fourth album at least shows a clearer direction than its muddled predecessor, despite having the capacity to infuriate as many black metal fans as it attracts. This is a distinctly post-2000 black metal release in its enthusiastic (if unoriginal) incorporation of electronic elements into its sound, but in the end this only results in a sub-par version of what many other bands are doing with greater talent and ingenuity. 'The Work Which Transforms God' is satisfyingly diverse, but still manages to irritate with its harsh industrial percussion, pointless ambient interludes to bulk out the tracklist. There are enough good songs here to merit a ...  Read the complete review