The Pitch: French black metal legends Blut Aus Nord return once more in their lengthy career to deliver further pyschotropic terrors and industrialized destruction with Deus Salutis Meae. FFO: Godflesh, Autokrator, Gnaw Their Tonges/Dragged Into Sunlight
What I Like: Blut Aus Nord are a band known for toying with their sound from album to album, but with Deus Salutis Meae they don't seem to be quite done with the hard-hitting collision of Street Cleaner meets vicious black metal. While the decibels have been cranked up a few notches, this album plays out much like a sequel to their 2016 split with Ævangelist, Codex Obscura Nomina. As such, the guiding force of this tight little album (clocking just under 35 minutes) is the drumming. The sound of the kit reverberates the entire listening space like cold, heavy steel machinery. I can almost hear my brain crumbling to pieces.
But where Godflesh tend to compliment these rhythms with a steady, doomy chug of distortion, BaN prefer warbling guitar effects that conjure a fever dream of strange alien dialects. This otherworldly dialogue is further aided by the black metal vocals which, due to harshness and production choices, sound no more human than the instrumentation. And every time I feel my senses being overloaded, I find myself at one of the little ambient interludes to take a few breaths before diving back in. It's a simple move, but one that exponentially aids the flow of the album as a whole.
Critiques: I've not much to say here. If I'm splitting hairs, the tracks do sound a little too similar. I could use a few more memorable moments that really stick in my mind, but I don't think BaN are a band that really sets out to deliver hooks and catchy melodies. This is more of a soundtrack to unspeakable horrors.
The Verdict: I've never been a die-hard fan of Blut Aus Nord like some of my peers out there, but I really enjoy them in this particular style. Maybe it's in part the fact that I don't hear a lot of industrial metal in general these days, but there is no denying that they not only do it justice; but also put their own terrifying spin on it. Pick up Deus Salutis Meae today on bandcamp below or via the other usual outlets.
Flight's Fav's: Chorea Macchabeorum, Apostasis, Revelatio
-Review by FlightOfIcarus
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