In 1995, French black metal group Blut Aus Nord released their debut
Ultima Thulée, which bandleader Vindsval composed in his mid-teens. While it resembles much of mid-’90s black metal with its bitterly cold sound and budget symphonic keyboards, it hinted at the expansive vision Vindsval would eventually wield as black metal’s dominating iconoclast. He is not a nostalgist, and even his more conventional works are made with an omnidirectional glare, never dwelling on when he was a budding prodigy. Vindsval’s debut as Forhist is his most straight-ahead black metal album since
Thulée; far from a retreat, it only affirms his mastery. It’s heavy on the Norwegian trances, those dizzying tremolos and constant soft double-bass pulses that are black metal’s cornerstones. Where blasts recede, keyboards bring in an understated glow. You’ve heard those patterns everywhere in black metal
A LIST OF MOST ANTICIPATED 2021 RELEASES (BY KARINA NOCTUM)
(Our Norway-based contributor Karina Noctum compiled this list of forthcoming 2021 releases that she’s eagerly awaiting, with streams of advance tracks for many of them.)
2021 has just started and the news of upcoming releases by several bands I really like has been substantial. It has become one of the few highlights amidst these almost post-apocalyptic times with virus mutations running wild. I’m compiling a list of albums or EPs I look forward so I won’t forget anything since it’s already a lot, luckily. I would like to share this list here.