Right off the bat, the fact that yet another metal album claiming inspiration from the much abused aesthetics and themes laid by H. P. Lovecraft doesn’t immediately succumb to triteness should in itself be motive for surprise and minor celebration. Blut Aus Nord, a band that has explored an ample array of musical possibilities, now proposes a trip through what many rightfully consider a worn out and consistently mishandled realm despite the potentials of an adequate approach (we can also make the passing note that, barring a few exceptions, film adaptations haven’t done much justice to the author’s work either).
The framework here is similar to that of the previous album (although adapted to the darker intentions of this venture), emphasizing a fluid development so as to give the music an almost liquid flow. The use of fretless electric guitar contributes significantly to lend it this smoothness; accordingly, there seems to be an attempt at allowing the songs to progress organically, as if the riffs were but different growths from the same amorphous eldritch matter: changes are for the most part announced by the drums, alternating between a nearly hypnotic accompaniment and a more frenetic attack for the more intense moments. Sparse vocals are likewise exclusively deployed for added texture, obeying the enterprise’s singleminded focus on creating impressions of the maddening landscapes of an endlessly hostile and indifferent universe. This constant ductile stream of sound makes for the sensation of an unrelenting vertiginous vortex, continuously pulling the listener into its abyssal depths.
Despite the angularity and dissonance that necessarily comes with the premise of portraying indescribable cosmic horrors, Blut Aus Nord benefits from not leaving melody aside for such a quest. Instead of confining their music to syncopated rhythms and harsh sonorities, the band opts for a rather ethereal texture, which only further emphasizes the ineffableness and otherworldly character of what’s being depicted (or, more accurately, suggested). Thus, the result is more similar to conventional melodicism being twisted from the inside out, a more interesting effect in our opinion. “Disharmonium” is thus firmly situated in the latter phase of the band’s career, taking the approach on which they have settled for their last work in new directions, the result being not entirely fresh or free from the preconceptions we might naturally associate with a “lovecraftian” album but sufficiently intriguing for a careful listen.
