A crucial peice of French black metal history and an essential part of the puzzle that is Blut Aus Nord, the band's debut album from 1995 Ultima Thulee has been reissued by Candlelight, and it's a must-get for fans of metaphysical, atmospheric blackness. If you've gotten into Blut Aus Nord

relatively recently through their acclaimed albums The Work Which Transforms God or last years Mort, then their first album might surprise

you at first. Back then, Blut Aus Nord was primarily the work of founder/mastermind Vindisval, and the eight songs that make up Ultima Thulee are

murky, thunderous blasts of buzzing low-fi black metal reminiscent of both Burzum and Emperor, filthy buzzsaw guitars and droning eerie keyboards, rolling

double bass drumming and blastbeats, super heavy and ripping and atmospheric, reaching blizzard levels of churning black buzz that also call to mind the

early works of Immortal. But it quickly becomes apparent that even this early in Blut Aus Nord's existence, the band was a heavily progressive, experimental

force. Songs break apart midway to reveal ice-plated glaciers of vintage analog synthesizer-prog ambience straight out of some lost 80's horror movie. The

vocals are strange and abstract much of the time, warped and sounding more like howling winds than a human throat. "My Prayer Beyond Ginnungagap" is totally

devoid of black metal; instead, we are enshrouded in hauntingly beautiful chant-harmonies, a dark hymn drifting out of the night. Equally beautiful

electronic appear ghostlike over droning midtempo riffs. And you can't even tell that Vindisval was using a drum machine here, it sounds so organic and

natural. Fans of 90's black metal will groove on this heavily, and it's obviously an essential addition to the library of any serious follower of French

black metal. Progressive and wildly original psychedelic blackness, with some of the coolest keyboard sounds ever used on a black metal album, presented in

an almost entirely text-less package that simply features a set of photographs that evocatively capture an icy mountain range, a perfect visual accompaniment

to Blut Aus Nord's frozen terrorscapes. Highly recommended.