In a little less than two years, Blut Aus Nord bring to completion the 777 trilogy that began with Sect(s) and continued with The Desanctification. This third episode is already causing discussion as, from a stylistic point of view, it deviates a lot from what the French band has done in the past. We believe that, in this regard, in order to analyze this work objectively, the approach with which one approaches it is fundamental. In fact, if we were to consider Cosmosophy as a stand-alone album this might cause some disorientation, especially when compared to the previous two pieces of the trilogy but, while respecting the different opinions already expressed, marked by a certain skepticism, I believe that listening to and understanding the record cannot disregard considering 777 as a whole. After all, the landing to the sounds of Cosmosophy had been foretold by Vindsval following the release of the second act The Desanctification, when he had declared that the epilogue of the trilogy would be marked by more ethereal and inevitably more melodic sounds, intending to represent the closing of a path through the manifestation of an apparent calm following the storm. Thus, what strikes one at first glance about this work is not so much what is contained in it as, instead, what is not part of it, such as the aggressive component on the part of a band that, in fact, black in its most canonical conception has not played it for years, or the industrial-style obsessiveness of the previous chapter. Here the atmospheres could be called dreamy, were it not for that subtle sense of unease that pervades them and prevents the melodies created by Blut Aus Nord from even appearing soothing. If we exclude the background sound to the French recitation in the first part of Epitome XV, where industrial-style turbulence peeps out again, the rest of Cosmosophy unravels under the banner of liquid guitars and clean vocals, offering the deceptive feeling of an easy listen; in fact, only after numerous attempts do we manage to reach the true essence of splendid tracks, paradoxically penalized only by the band’s name printed on the cover. For although this album is nonetheless and inevitably inferior to that formidable sonic monolith that was The Desanctification, one cannot avoid getting caught up in the dark ambient atmospheres with encroachments into post-metal of the five long epitomes, among which the XVII stands out, a genuine gem of melodic magnificence. Let it not be thought that Vindsval has finally come to terms with the demons that haunt him: the electronic dissonances that, after an endlessly repeated theme, close the curtain on Epitome XVIII and the trilogy appear anything but reassuring. For some, 777 Cosmosophy will constitute a step backward when referring to the recent discography; for the writer, on the contrary, it is a confirmation of the status of excellence achieved by a band that, at this moment, is capable of taking any stylistic direction while being equally effective and, above all, credible.

2012 – Debemur Morti Productions / Eitrin Editions