For the next installment in my French Black Metal journey, I chose the well regarded and eccentric The Work Which Transforms God by Blut Aus Nord. The band mistakenly (and to many a laugh) named their band in German using incorrect grammar. Blut Aus Nord is literally translated to “Blood from North.”

Laughter aside, The Work Which Transforms God is a critically acclaimed album which leaves much to the imagination yet still satisfies my need for Black Metal villainy. The first full track presented is The Choir of the Dead. Immediately it becomes easy to notice just how different the feel on this album is. The guitars sound laden with a chorus effect. The chords they use on the opening riff sound strange and demented even for Black Metal. It is almost as if a twisted gale is rumbling towards landfall to smash all in its path. There is definitely enough blasting fury to go around, but where Blut Aus Nord shine the most is in their toned down, atmospheric sections. A prime example would be the eerie ending to the third track, Axis. This song bears enough intensity to keep it enthralling, however, towards the end, the quiet yet interesting ending is what sets The Work Which Transforms God apart as a truly dissimilar album.

This is my first exposure to Blut Aus Nord. While I know for a fact that the band has several other solid albums, and others not so much, if their discography is as different and odd as the music on The Work Which Transforms God, then I know that collecting much of the works of Blut Aus Nord will be worthwhile. The ambient effects that punctuate the beginnings and ends of several songs make for a harrowing experience. The Fall is a minute and a half of simple ambient structures. This track leads the way to one of my favorites in Metamorphosis. This song starts off with more oddly built guitar riffs using notations that sound equally as demented as the effects laden over the band. Once the vocals cascade over the rest of the band, the sound goes from interesting to nightmarish. These pulsing rhythms are the type that could drive a man insane.

The guitar tone is strong, with the highs of the riffs ringing out in spooky fashion, while the lower chords thump and boom with great vigor. The Work Which Transforms God is not everyone’s cup of tea. It certainly has rhythms and melodies which bear freshness due to their abnormality and ugliness. The guitars are truly painful, yet like a train wreck, you cannot look away, only enjoy the cacophony and destruction before you. Blut Aus Nord do great work here, truly transforming the way I look at Black Metal.