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Blut Aus Nord is one of the many bands that have been around for a long time but I am only now getting around to checking out. Their 2011 album, 777-The Desanctification, is not your typical Black Metal effort. It sticks to a more hauntingly melodic and atmospheric style, foregoing any of the usual blast-beats or tremolo picking. The sound is layered and with the vocals way back in the mix they are not much more than another thread in a fairly busy tapestry.

I am not familiar with Blut Aus Nord's prior works so this may be obvious to long-time fans, but many of the melodies on 777-The Desanctification are Middle-Eastern in sound, much like Melechesh, only with far less aggression. The instrumental, "Epitome IX," features guitars and some sound that may originate from non-metal instruments (or they could be courtesy of a synthesizer) and it sounds similar to "When Halos of Candles Collide" from The Epigenesis.

While I like the non-traditional approach to Black Metal, and 777-The Desanctification is most definitely Black Metal, I found the album to be repetitive. There are some good ideas, the powerful "Epitome X" comes to mind, but even the good ones go around more often than they should. I enjoyed 777-The Desanctification, but I wouldn't call it essential.