Alcove ( /ælˈkoʊv/ or /ˈælkoʊv/; through the Spanish, alcoba, from the Arabic, al-, the, and qubbah(القبة), a vault) is an architectural term for a recess in a room, usually screened off by pillars, balustrades or drapery.

In geography and geology, the term Alcove is used for a wind-eroded depression in the side of a cliff of a homogenous rock type, famous from sandstones of the Colorado Plateau like the Navajo Sandstone.

Blut Aus Nord (French pronunciation: [bluːt.o.nɔʁ], German pronunciation: [ˈbluːt aʊs ˈnɔʁt]) is a black metal band from Mondeville, Calvados, France, which has incorporated avant-garde elements in its music.

Vindsval began a solo project, under the name "Vlad", in 1994. He released two demos before changing the project's name to Blut aus Nord, before the release of Ultima Thulée in 1995. The next three albums were recorded with the aid of session musicians. It is only recently that the group has had any permanent members apart from Vindsval.

The project's most critically acclaimed release is The Work Which Transforms God, a concept album which, in spite of being mostly instrumental with none of the lyrics made public, is meant to challenge the listener's prejudices and preconceptions about reality and various metaphysical subjects. The album was named by Terrorizer Magazine as one of its top 10 albums of 2003. So far, Vindsval has only allowed the lyrics from one of Blut aus Nord's full-length releases, Memoria Vetusta I, to be made public. According to journalist Avi Pitchon, "Blut Aus Nord are responsible, perhaps more so than any band, for the most recent evolution within black metal. 2003's 'The Work Which Transforms God' introduced us to the warped, collapsing mutation of 'black hole metal'; nowadays also called shoegazing BM."