Blut Aus Nord – Ethereal Horizons Review

Sometimes it’s all a question of perspective. Among the most prominent and influential of French black metal, the sometimes-solo-project-sometimes-three-piece entity known as Blut Aus Nord have manifested four or five entirely different versions of themselves over the last thirty(!) years. Occasionally, their albums are released in sets of connected sounds and themes, and other times you can be exposed to one idea you fall in love with, only for the band to pivot away into something new and unexpected; imagine the surprise fans of Fathers of the Icy Age must have felt first hearing The Work Which Transforms God. We are now at album sixteen (to say nothing of their innumerable splits and EP’s), and the question isn’t as much “is this gonna be any good” as much as “which band is showing up today?”

As it turns out, quite a few of them. The bones of Ethereal Horizons is laid via the post-metalisms of Hallucinogen, but with tones focused much more on a cosmic sense than the trippier 70s psychedelia of yore. The overall presentation of the album consists of lengthier riffs designed to evoke mood rather than raw noodling or blast-heavy assaults. Heavy emphasis is placed on a/b phrasing, which pairs two different ideas reminiscent of different eras in Blut Aus Nord’s career, but unifies them via the same sheen throughout. The organic production reigns supreme, using the beefy approach of the past two albums but firmly removing the Dis from the Harmonium with supremely melodic results.

Despite never abandoning that sense of the organic, occasional nods towards the Blut Aus Nord industrial sound makes their presence known. Riffs are longer and more repetitive across the release, sometimes dropping out into a drum-and-bass solo (“The Fall Opens the Sky”) and elsewhere having drummer W.D. Feld do a fantastic impression of the vintage drum machine (“Seclusion”). These bits are spiritually kin to 777 – Cosmosophy, using their drawn-out forms to emphasize the beauty found within while taking the listener through a plethora of emotions. The greater utilization of the properly melodic over the dissonant means that minor keys get to make their impact felt without losing the sense of harmony (“What Burns Now Listens”) with the focus placed more on hefty atmosphere rather than a collection of overly intricate riff-craft. Synth is layered throughout the album with tones pulled from the Memoria Vetusta series as well as some clips of nature and the occasional acoustic introductions and outros, tying everything together as an auditory voyage, where, in typical Blut Aus Nord fashion, the only way is forward.

Ethereal Horizons places the bulk of its weight in those atmospheres, with the writing clearly engineered to be absorbed as a whole body of work in one sitting as opposed to being tailored for playlist harvesting. This element is key, as some songwriting moments could be perceived as frustrating if taken individually. It’s rare to hear Blut Aus Nord place such emphasis on repeating motifs in their more organic work, and synth interlude “Twin Suns Reverie” can be perplexing on first listen. However, by tying together separate components of composition across their storied career into one cohesive whole, what emerges is an album larger than the sum of its parts. Mercurial shifts from nods to Disharmonium to 777 to Memoria Vetusta are aided by subtle shifts in guitar tones used from riff to riff. “The End Becomes Grace” is a key example, flinging a verse straight from the most triumphant moments of Saturnian Poetry fresh off a Hallucinogen lead, but suddenly the notes are darker, grittier, and far more properly blackened. Blut Aus Nord have had a rare moment of looking inward and backward to find a path onward, and offered up a prism with nods to their various colors, all filtered through the same jagged jewel of sound.

Like any good album by these French fiends, this might not be what everyone is hoping for. It certainly wasn’t for me. At first listen I found myself underwhelmed, then by the fourth, confused. But judging any Blut Aus Nord release on your own expectations is always going to be a fool’s errand. By mining the depth of their own past for inspiration, the band managed once again to turn their own familiarity on its head and forge a new destination to parts known only to them. Triumphantly melodic in sound yet hypnotic in scope, energetic enough to be heavy yet beautiful enough to be soothing, Ethereal Horizons is a journey of an album through beautiful cosmic pastures, and doubtless to still greater horrors beyond.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: NA | Format Reviewed: Mother heckin’ gosh darn stream
Label: Debemur Morti Productions
Website: Album Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: November 28th, 2025