- published: 02 Nov 2014
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Atrocity is a German death Metal band formed in Ludwigsburg.
First started in 1985 as Instigators and playing grindcore, Atrocity arose as a death metal band with their debut EP, Blue Blood, in 1989, followed soon by Hallucinations, a concept album about drug use. Their second album, Todessehnsucht ("longing for death"), ventured into death metal, with a cover of "Arch Angel" by the band Death. Their musical scope broadened over the years, incorporating medieval and horror influences on their 1994 Dracula-based concept album Atrocity's Blut, (styled after the successful film Bram Stoker's Dracula). Atrocity's Blut was followed by Calling The Rain, an MCD with female vocals by guest singer Yasmin Krull and acoustic themes.
The 1996 release Willenskraft introduced industrial elements, with the special bonus CD of the album's special edition (Kraft und Wille) including electronic remixes of the songs. The later releases were less and less metallic; Werk 80 featured versions of 1980s disco hits and the band had no apparent direction for the following few years. Unusual MCD-releases and experimental songs like Lili Marlene-covers (featured on Gemini) estranged many of their original metal fans.
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."