_ _______ _ ...:... _ _______ _ ___ / .:::::::::::. \ ___ | / .. (:::::::::::::) .. \ | | . .:::::.`:::::::::::'.:::::. . | | .::.. `:::.::':::`::.:::' ..::. | _ _______ | .::' ::::':::::`:::: `::. | _______ _ \\ | | :: `' ::':`:: `' :: | | // \ | | `:. .::' . `::. .:' | | / . | | .::::::..::::' ... `::::..::::::. | | . | | `:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::' | | .... | | `:' `::::: :: :: :::::' `:' | | .... | ' | : `. ': :: :: :: :: :` .' : | ` | |.....: . .......: :: :: :: :: : ...... . : ....| . ...................: : :: :: :: :: : : ................. . _____________:_____________ _____________:_____________ _ ___\` __ /_\` _______/_\` __ _/_\` /___ _ // __ / (/ ___/ (/ _ (/ /_______/\ _ _ /_________ ___________ ______/\ _ ______________/\__/_ _ \\\\\_________\__/\_________\__/\_____/\_____/\____________/ /// - -\-\-----------\__/----------\__/-------\_____/---------------/-/- - - -------------------: : :. ..:: :: . :------------------ - : : :......: :: :` ': :: : .....: : : ___ _ | | : ` ' : | | _ ___ _\---------- : | -------- : B E R C : -------- | : ----------/_ /_\ . : . ..:.. ..:.. . : . /_\ /// . . : : . . \\\ /: :\ /:: Artist :: Blut aus Nord ::\ :: Album :: Ethereal Horizons :: :: Year :: 2025 :: :: __ _ _ __ :: -:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:- :: \ / :: :: . Genre :: Black Metal Source :: CD . :: :: Label :: Debemur Morti Productions R.date :: 2025-12-20 :: _::__ Cat.nr. :: DMP0265-CD S.date :: 2025-11-28 __::_ ::// \\:: ::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\:: :: :: /: Encoder :: LAME 3.100 -V0 :\ ..: Bitrate :: avg. 265kbps :.. . Quality :: 44.1 kHz/Joint Stereo . . Size :: 103.53MB . . . __ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __ .\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////. +/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+ /: . : : . :\ /:: ::\ :: 1. Shadows Breathe First 7:15 :: :: 2. Seclusion 8:17 :: :: 3. The Ordeal 7:17 :: :: 4. The Fall Opens the Sky 7:47 :: :: 5. What Burns Now Listens 6:22 :: :: 6. Twin Suns Reverie 2:21 :: :: 7. The End Becomes Grace 12:23 :: :: :: :: :: :: ------- :: .. >> 51:42 .. __ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __ .\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////. +/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+ /: . : : . :\ /:: ::\ :: :: :: A bit in the vein of a 'Hallucinogen', 'Ethereal Horizons' :: :: marks a return to luscious melodic BAN but with the progressive :: :: undertones of the former transfigured into more purposeful and :: :: tighter writing, and what felt more like a damp atmospheric :: :: reverb now more vast with a genuine sense of cosmic breadth. :: :: 'Shadows Breathe First' kicks this off and it's immediately :: :: clear it was meant to be a classic in the band's overall :: :: catalogue. That melody sticks like few they've ever made, but :: :: in the best, most characteristic BAN sort of way, between epic :: :: and sorrowful, and always with that gravitas. They've really :: :: nailed that unique feeling of solemnity throughout the years. :: :: :: :: 'The Ordeal' offers a more troubling vision to be explored as :: :: it starts off, until the clean sung verse brings its tempering :: :: presence through that devotional vocal delivery and lush :: :: harmony work on the tail. The album will sometimes revert to a :: :: standard mode with sections more or less generic, but as the :: :: listener grasps the full spectrum of the songs, the point of :: :: these parts becomes clear: here the middle acts as a bridge to :: :: the beautifully crafted melody in the outro with its defiant :: :: presence, like the spirit of freedom depicted for a minute or :: :: so via dynamic scoring. :: :: :: :: 'The Fall Opens The Sky' is a return to tragic BAN: there's :: :: that desperation, that representation of profound sadness that :: :: one might find on the '777' trilogy. Only in a slightly more :: :: contained, ripe format here. That long bout in the middle with :: :: plain hi-hat lead drums in the foreground and soft synth-like :: :: guitars playing in the background is as close as the album gets :: :: to a feeling of floating in space, as hinted at with the album :: :: title and cover. An interesting mastering of the quieter :: :: passages previous records couldn't do, and although this might :: :: not have the youthful intensity and climactic apex of earlier :: :: BAN, it is more mature in its consistency and smooth delivery :: :: of quality, track after track. :: :: :: :: Arguably the most eventful song, 'What Burns Now Listens' comes :: :: next and proposes a series of themes consecutively distributed; :: :: albeit with a proper sense of structure. It's that track that :: :: mixes things up when the others were busy establishing a :: :: consistent aesthetic for the album. And another lovely outro :: :: section, full of dramatic drive and momentum. Classic BAN. The :: :: short instrumental 'Twin Suns Reverie' adds exactly the sort of :: :: break a mature musician will slot in before the grand finale. :: :: Graceful and drumless, it'll supply just enough rest to the :: :: ears. The worthy final 'The End Becomes Grace' adds more of :: :: that velvety, atmospheric flavor heard across this expedition :: :: into horizons ethereal; namely that section right after the :: :: middle rest, detonating with boldness - chivalrous even, one :: :: could say. :: :: :: :: . _ _ . :: \: :. \\ ___________ . ___________ // .: :/ __\____ :: ____ ___\ _ / BERC : 2025 \ _ /___ ____ :: ____/__ \\\f3! :: \\\ __ _/_________i_________\ /___/ /// :: cRO/// \ :: :\-\___________\_ ___ / _ _/___________/-/: :: / :: | . . _ _ _/ __/ . \_ _ _ . . | :: : :::::::: | | \\\\\/ _______\____|\ \///// | | :::::::: : :: | | -\-\/____/-------------\____\/-/- | | :: :: | | \ :|: / | | :: : : | . ` ::: ' . | : : . . | : ::: : | . . | :::....:::....::: | : ::::::::::::::::: : . :::''``:::''``::: . : ::: : . ::: . .:. :