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Blut aus Nord > 777 - Sect(s) > Reviews > Wilytank
Blut aus Nord - 777 - Sect(s)

Power and Majesty. Sanity not included. - 92%

Wilytank, November 7th, 2011

(Originally posted by me to the Metal Music Archives: http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/)

Since The Work that Transformed God, Blut Aus Nord have been known for posessing a unique black metal style that bend the properties of reality. However, with 777 - Sect(s), I'm lead to believe that they don't just want to disconnect us from our reality. In fact, after listening to this, I'm starting to speculate that the elusive Vindsval has schizophrenia.

All the songs in this 777 series begin with the prefix "Epitome". The first of these begins without any bullshit intro and simply dives head first into chaos. The music is very fast paced, and the riffing style makes it sound chaotic. 1:50 marks a slow down point while still maintaining dissonant guitar sounds. It breaks back into the fast paced chaos at 3:55, but different music is played than before the slow break. The "schizophrenia" feel really makes itself well known as the riffs sound like the listener's sanity spiraling down the drain. Eventually, it all stops leaving a very creepy industrial/dark ambient outro.

The second song starts out dissonant sounding chords leading into a slower song. Keyboards add layers of atmosphere already constructed by the guitars. The first half of the song doesn't offer a lot of variation. The dissonant chords give way to a series of lead power chords on guitar. Then, there's a break in the rhythm. This is repeated twice. 4:28 introduces some new notes though that lead into something of a slow guitar solo/lead that plays through the rest of the song. More calm sounding than the first song, but decent all the same. It's good to see that BAN still play the beautiful melodic sounds on guitar that they've been known for.

"Epitome III" is shorter and faster, but is different sounding than the insane sounding first song. The atmosphere is a little less on the schizophrenic side, but there's keyboards in certain parts the music that make it sound like some collage of distorted church music. There's a false end at 3:10 to give way to a slower, creepier tone portrayed by the keyboards and dissonant guitars. The song goes by really fast at such a short length.

The fourth song is the longest one just short of 12 minutes. It's also another slower song. There's dissonant chords and keyboards, but there's vocals that sound like they're being played backwards to reinforce the schizophrenic feel of the music again. 2:02 introduces some melody into the guitar work, but it doesn't last very long. However, it does come back after another series of backwards vocals. After it ends this time, new music is introduced with more dissonant chord structures. Another pause around the 6 minute mark signals another change in the music featuring dissonant guitar work without accompaniment from drums, bass, keys, or vox. About a minute later, a faster section is started with the drums breaking out in blast-beats again. The vocals no longer sound like they're being played backwards. The music finally returns to the slow pace a minute and a half later. Different music is played than other parts of the song. The next time the vocals come in, they are in the form of distorted howling like some unholy choir. Melody is very scarce in this song, making it one of the best examples of the schizophrenic style that Blut Aus Nord seems to be emphasizing in this album.

We return again to fast paced music with "Epitome V". There are parts where the drumming slows down while the guitars continue in their dissonant tremolo riffing. Eventually, this is furthered around the 2 minute mark. The guitars finally do slow down to fit the drums to prepare for a lead. The slow dissonance continues until the music finally speeds up again at the 5:30 mark. You ought to know what it's like by now: reality bending, dissonant, warped, and of course schizophrenic.

And of course, the even numbered songs would be the slower paced ones. Such is the case of the final song. This song has more melody than the other ones here making it a fitting closer to this album by giving it a feel of catharsis (reaching the epitome if you will). The dissonance is still going on underneath the melodic guitar and later the keyboards as well. There are no vocal sounds in this song at all. As teh song goes on, the layers of instrumentation dissipate as the song (and the album) reach the end seemingly slowing down the music even more before finally ending.

Blut Aus Nord are one of those bands that have to try hard to disappoint me. 777 - Sect(s) is an excellent addition to their legacy. But apparently, they aren't done yet. Two more 777 albums are coming out with even more glorious Epitomes. If Sect(s) was any indication, those albums should be glorious as well.