Forhist is a self-titled recording project by
Blut Aus Nord's faceless founder and creative mastermind
Vindsval. Directly inspired by '90s-era Norwegian black metal, he wrote the band's classic 1995 debut,
Ultima Thullé, as a teen. Since then,
BAN has traveled in many different musical directions. From the aggressive, multi-dimensional blackened approach to metaphysical and esoteric philosophy in
The Work Which Transforms God and the sonically dense, droning, ploddingly experimental
MoRT, to the sprawling progressive darkness of the
Memoria Vetusta series, the avant 777 trilogy, and the meld of atmospheric metal and present-day neo-psychedelia on
Hallucinogen,
Vindsval never looked back. Until now.
Forhist is unapologetic in looking to the past for primal inspiration. Musically, these eight untitled, numbered pieces recall black metal's influence as it spread across Europe, and the musicians who were inspired by it and forged new sonic pathways. Here,
Vindsval relies on black metal's basic tropes -- impenetrably raw, distorted sound, indecipherable shrieked vocals, icy tremolo picking, detuned riffs, blastbeats, rudimentary Gothic keyboards, sampled Gregorian chants, and more. But
Vindsval can't forget everything he's learned over the past quarter-century, whether he wants to or not. This album offers an episodic yet jagged flow, layering natural, found, and industrial sounds, cyclical progressions, shifting textural dynamics, and an uncharacteristically pronounced use of melody. It opens, interestingly enough, with field-recorded birdsong before a cascading, buzzed-out, eight-note tremolo guitar riff explodes chromatically, underscored by non-stop blastbeats; impenetrable screamed vocals enter a couple of minutes later. The birds return in the outro just before martial drumming, tinny analog synths, and filthy guitars gather force for "II." Its middle section momentarily shifts tempos, becoming slower before a monolith of churning riffs takes over. A swinging drum shuffle frames a power metal vamp that arrives from the margin, introducing chanted vocals before sloughing off into oblivion. In "IV," synths and buzzsaw guitars duel for dominance as
Vindsval adds shrieking for ballast. A
Sabbath-ian riff crescendos in the center, then drops out suddenly, leaving an acoustic guitar and ambient effects to color the foreground. Blackened electric guitars charge in with a vengeance to provide a nearly Wagner-ian conclusion. "VII" emerges in a maelstrom as guitars, mystical chants, blastbeat drums, and keyboards collide, then circle one another with dizzying intensity before they get whirlpooled into a demonic whole. The cumulative effect of
Forhist is nightmarish and hallucinatory, as exhausting as it is exhilarating, and as intoxicating as it is punishing.
Vindsval's cyclical presentation of sounds, textures, and aggression could just as easily be played in reverse order with the same effect. For all its rearview focus, this date marks a truly contemporary engagement with black metal by one of extreme music's most advanced musicians and thinkers. In sum,
Vindsval not only continues to draw inspiration from the source, but reinvigorates it, too. ~ Thom Jurek