Thorns (drums) who seems to head up this band has his fingers in multiple bands with Blut Aus Nord being the most recognised. Ably assisted by Ades (guitar and bass ) and Psaalm on vocals this debut release is packed with surprises amongst a black metal template that offers ingenuity and creativity within the six compositions.
As expected a typically eerie intro piece starts the album on “The Unrepenting Son” utilising a distant bell toll with spoken words enhancing the drama and theatrical stance that the album maintains throughout. The intro is swept aside by a shrill guitar riff and accompanying blast propelling the intensity and furious malice of the tune. Vocally Psaalm adds levels of persona via his huge range with ghoulish croaking blending with outright spittle laden tirades that ooze black malevolence. As the opener fades “Below And Beyond” bursts in with another glass shattering riff that leads to a very cool riff break that is barren but caustically powerful. The track has an inherent catchiness embellished by the vocal theatrics and Thorns’ nihilistic drumming.
An aura of desolation permeates this album as the title track possesses a pervading ethos of menace and grief. Nearing the nine minute mark the track has an epic Bathory feel but also Czech black outfit Root due to the vocal styles. The song has a very catchy riff with pagan like qualities similar to Drudkh or Khors complete with chanted vocal lines enabling the song to be uplifting yet sorrowfully destitute. The tempo shifts throughout the album enable it to shift from one phase to another smoothly as each piece is melded to the next effortlessly and with cinematic effectiveness. “Unholy Cosmogony” begins serenely with a semi acoustic piece that develops by adding various facets such as bass rumbling introducing an air of tension to the breaking savage riff and accompanying blast. I like the sound on this album a lot, it has the starkness required of authentic black metal but a richness that flows like black blood through the fabric of the songs, especially the drums which have a great potent mix.
This album is a classic demonstration in pernicious black metal, decorated with pagan aspects but virulent and possessing a foreboding atmosphere. Well worth investigating Liber Null offer authentic black metal that retains the hallmarks of past glories but forges new avenues of slithering black filth.
(8.5/10 Martin Harris)
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