“Ethereal Horizons” takes the listener to outer-space realms; despite its polished, vibrant appearance, the French stalwarts demonstrate their skills in writing catchy songs that combine dark and futuristic elements. The new album sounds powerful and atmospherically drenched in melodic hooks that work in tandem with unsettling themes of aliens and cosmic landscapes, revealing the depth of the spherical synth, unearthly choirs, and remarkable guitar solos.

“Ethereal Horizons” ominously flows in the same vein as the 2019 studio album “Hallucinogen” and feels a perfect fit as a sequel, with its intellectual and sci-fi idiosyncrasies that thrive on spectacular compositions and heaviness. The opening track, “Shadows Breath First”, begins with mind-churning meditative meanderings that lull the listener into a trance-like reverie before surprising us with robust drumming machinations and menacing screeching.

The atmospheric intensity, laying the groundwork for much of what Blut Aus Nord has achieved. The music submerges you into the cosmic ethereal spectrum of vast space. The refinement is carried to an infinite degree of mastery, while the lead guitars focus on sleek performance influenced by progressive space rock.

The music ascends to a darker, ominous realm on “Seclusion”, which opens with a mysterious swirling synth that is on full display, allowing a greater range of sounds to emphasize lustrous qualities on a grandiose scale.

Lofty melodies transcend, exuding electrifying off-kilter lead work that maintains constant hooks. The alien-like vocals screech menacingly from the cold void of space. The synth shimmers and immerses you in deep sonic textures; there is a perfect amalgamation of raw elements used on albums like “Memoria Vetusta I: Fathers of the Icy Age” & II: Dialogue with the Stars”, and the industrial elements that appeared in the “777 – Sect(s)”, “777 – The Desanctification” and, “777 – Cosmosophy”.

The innovative guitar work unleashes blazing riffs, and there are aplenty of mind-blowing atmospheres that provide a celestial momentum before venturing into ferocious, icy black metal a la Abigor and Immortal.

The bombastic dance of the empyreal choirs and the thunderous double bass on “The Ordeal” shows a tight grip on the instruments for creating complex riffing; the entire album is soaked in omnipresent synth. Vindsval’s vocals are epic and steeped in second-wave black metal; the music conjures colossal mountains and amber horizons of giant moons orbiting its spheres.

Eerie textures and ominous sounds are beautifully woven and amassed into a cosmogonic cauldron. The spectral crescendo provides an engaging feel; the rapid drums on “The Fall Opens The Sky” are juxtaposed with the fantastic symphonic synth sections, guitar solos shimmering in moments of abrasive chaos to fortify the cold, uncanny vibes.

Mind-blowing virtuosity and sweeping tonal palette, soaring dramatic choirs, and furious, potent riffs.  The tapestry oozes hypnotic effects. However, the eerie ambiance is in full effect, contrasting the dynamic range; Blut Aus Nord’s style holds its avant-garde and classic raw primordial riffs that harken to the 90s black metal era.

The dark and icy mélange of Vindsval’s composition wields the aggression of straightforward and atmospheric black metal. Each riff is crafted brilliantly through an abrasive tonal framework reinforced by fierce percussion; the broadening rhythms bloom like wild, uncanny plants. Eerie synthesizers, which offer plenty of spectral ambiance on “What Burns Now Listens”, prolongs the aesthetic experience.

The guitars offer a variety of hooks, adding that haunting element of progressive rock, which is shrewdly fused with bass guitar, showing an intellectually musical scope like the cold glacial harmonies where jagged guitars and groovy bass pulsate throughout the tempo.

“Twin Suns Reverie” is a short, ethereal, and suspenseful interval, and it somehow ponders upon the same spiritual electro style of the German band Enigma. The final track, “The End Becomes Grace”, is spectacularly spine-tingling and atmospherically eerie.

The aggressive build-up of the tremolo riffing combines apocalyptic choirs, rapid percussion, and wonderfully balanced, memorable guitar lines, all encapsulated into a massive wall of sound. Its impenetrable ambiance seems engrossing for those willing to go on a cosmic journey through otherworldly soundscapes. The remaining five minutes to the final ending notes then boost spiraling riffs and blissful choirs, cleverly integrated into complex melodic riffs.

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