An Aural Nightmare

Advantages: Hugely atmospheric, original, well executed
Disadvantages: Its abstract nature will not be to everyones taste

...After the interesting if not wholly successful flirtiation with ambient/industrial that was their 2005 EP 'Thematic Emanations of Archetypal Multiplicity', the ever esoteric Blut Aus Nord collapsed in upon themselves once more with this, their 2006 full length 'MoRT'. Whilst some elements from the earlier EP do remain- the disturbing chanting, swathes of eerie feedback ambience and periods of silence, weird, lethargic, tortured riffs and meachanical, alien-sounding programmed drums that clatter and craw in the background like some ancient malfunctioning machine- 'MoRT' pushes this weirdness to a whole new level that has alienated and delighted the band's fans in equal measures. On the cover of the album (the version I have anyway) there can dimly be made out a severely decomposed figure slumped against the wall, with the word 'Mo...

Burning_Darkness 01.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of Mort - Blut Aus Nord

Exit (Towards the Asylum)

Advantages: Varied and atmospheric
Disadvantages: Industrial parts are a little generic sounding in places.

...Blut Aus Nord's 'Thematic Emanations of Archetypal Multiplicity' EP picks up where preceding full length 'The Work Which Transforms God' (2003) left off, opening with a lumbering, ominous intro that gives way to the dissonant strings, snaking, doomy riffs and slow mechanical drum beats of 'Level 1- (Nothing Is)', perhaps the best track on the album. Tension is built up then released in inharmonious bursts, accompanied by coarse, effect-heavy spoken word parts and ethereal wails and is indicative of the style Blut Aus Nord are to adopt on their following full-length M.O.R.T (2006). This is followed by a fairly conventional industrial track, 'Level 2 (Nothing is Not)', which consists of minimalist beats and a repetitive bassline that die away into a muted distant pulse mid-song before kicking back in. Whilst enjoyable enough, the track...

Burning_Darkness 12.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Thematic Emanation Of Archetypal Multiplicity - Blut Aus Nord

Black Hole Metal

Advantages: Hugely atmospheric, well crafted songs, well balanced as an album
Disadvantages: Disadvantages: May be a little too avant-garde for some

...Blut Aus Nord's fourth full length, 'The Work Which Transforms God', is a very alien and otherworldly sounding piece of black metal, which alternates dissonant crashing riffs and hammering rhythms with warped, drawn out cords and eerie, creeping drum beats. These are interspersed with ambient sections filled with ethereal keys and ominous bells alongside moments of pure silence. It fits together brilliantly as an album, evoking the nightmarish atmosphere of Clive Barker's 'Hellraiser' one minute then sucking the listener into a black hole the next with a hurricane of cacophonous sound, before lurching into cold, despondent, riffs and plodding industrial beats suggestive of some ravaged future dystopia. The album is best listened to in its entirety, as the harsh and jarring sections balance out well with the open, lumbering parts...

Burning_Darkness 12.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Work Which Transforms God, The - Blut Aus Nord

Mystical, occult, and eerie as hell

Advantages: Completely unheard sound, dark brooding atmosphere
Disadvantages: It's love it or hate it, actually

...There haven't been as many interestingly strange acts as Blut Aus Nord in the metal underground for some time now, even in this era of extreme expirimentation and blending of rock music's genres in general. The french project, lead by -typically- a shadowy individual by the pseudonym of Vindsvall, has been mostly know for the drastic change of styles from its first release entitled Ultima Thule where the "band" (it was just Vindsvall himself at the time) played in interesting varation of the Burzum-ic style of melodic, ambient black metal, to pass through the purist black metal of the next album "Memoria Vetusta I" reaching at the end the dissonant and psychedelic "Mystical Beast of Rebellion". This mini cd pushes to the extreme the boundaries of Blut Aus Nord's sound and the heavy metal perspective in general, to emerge somewhere...

Nihilus 11.09.2006 · Read review
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Review of Thematic Emanation Of Archetypal Multiplicity - Blut Aus Nord

Hotel du Nord

Advantages: Beautifully filmed, poetic, magnificently acted masterpiece of cinema rarely matched today
Disadvantages: Nothing... genuinely nothing

...I first saw Hotel du Nord as part of a double bill with a film by Jean Renoir (I forget which - though I think the brilliant Le Crime De Monsieur Lange) and I was frankly going to see the Renoir film and thought, hmmm, I'll just have to sit through Hotel du Nord and grin and bear it. Something about the film just really didn't appeal. Then right from the opening shot that tracks down from the bridge over the canal Saint Martin and along the side of the canal to where the two lovers, played by Annabella and Jean-Pierre Aumont, settle against one another on a bench, despairing and apparently doomed I simply didn't look back. I couldn't. Since that Sunday afternoon I have always had something of a soft spot for Hotel du Nord. It is firmly placed in the traditional of French cinema of the thirties. Like his contemporaries, Renoir...

No_name 11.02.2007 · Read review
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Review of Hotel Du Nord (Subtitled) (DVD)

Hotel Du NOrd, Interlaken

Advantages: excellent service, location
Disadvantages: none

......

mabi 18.07.2008 · Read review
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Review of Hotel Du Nord, Interlaken

The Flying Archangel of Northern Russia

Advantages: Good service, good food, reliable.
Disadvantages: Poor check in, old aircraft

...Ever since I played the travel game "Go" as a kid, back in the 70s, I have always been fascinated by the idea that there is a city in northern Russia called Archangel - or Arkhangelsk, to give it the proper name. When I read the excellent thriller, Archangel, by Robert Harris, I decided that one day I must visit. And I still feel the same - I must get there one day. No, this rambling preamble is not to explain that I have been; that remains a vague note on my "must do, one day" list. But I have flown on their airline. Who are Aeroflot Nord? In 1991, when the Soviet Union broke up, Aeroflot was by far the largest airline in the world, as they were the sole operator of anything that flew in the Soviet Union - scheduled flights, government jets, air ambulances, even crop sprayers. As the Soviet Union fragmented, so too did...

Vodkaboy 24.04.2006 · Read review
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Review of Aeroflot Nord

"Aus Bayern"

Advantages: Easy to drink
Disadvantages: Not so easy to get hold of

...Erdinger Weissbier - wheat beer - comes out of the private brewery Erdinger, in the town of Erding near Munich, hence the wording on the label, "Aus Bayern", translating as "of Bavaria". It comes in a natty brown bottle with white labelling and the logo resplendent in red and blue, assuring us that it's "mit feiner hefe in der flasche gerfiet", which my fairly good knowledge of German tells me that it's made with the finest ripened hops in the bottle. Their words not mine! I was down at our local Majestic's umming and aaahing about which ale to sample when I chanced upon a case of 12 x 500 ml bottles of this beer for £18.00, which comes in at £1.50 a bottle or £1.70 a pint - still pretty good value for money - when the girl behind the counter told me she'd throw in a glass too at no extra charge, that closed the sale and I...

pinkmatchstick 11.11.2005 · Read review
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Review of Erdinger Wiess Bier

Oh la la the best in Calais by far

Advantages: Relaxing hotel, easy to get to
Disadvantages: maybe a little pricey

...I had to travel to Germany, in fact it was the furthest part of the old West Germany you could get to, so I needed to break my journey (after travelling from the West Country), just coming out of the Channel Tunnel, Calais seemed a good place to stop off over night. *** Where is it *** The Holiday Inn "Calais - Nord" is located just out of the centre of Calais near the car ferry port. So it is very convenient for both the Channel Tunnel and the ferry ports. It took me about 10 minutes to drive there from the Channel Tunnel. The hotel is located at 6/8/10 Boulevard des Allies 62100 Calais France Tel +33 321 34 6969 Fax + 33 321 97 0915 www.holiday-inn.com/calais-nord The hotel is very easy to find, in fact the directions on the Holiday Inn website are perfect. The hotel is located right next to the car ferry...

lazza123 13.03.2008 (25.03.2008) · Read review
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Review of Holiday Inn Calais Nord

Cheap and cheerful in Paris

Advantages: Well priced. Great location
Disadvantages: Basic hotel.

...I have stayed at the Hotel Aris Nord in Paris on a number of occasions. Whilst it is not a luxurious hotel it is functional, friendly and reasonable and I would highly recommend it. Location It is ideally located for Eurostar trips to Paris being about 5 minutes walk from the Gare du Nord. It is also 5 minutes walk away from Gare du L'est so is in easy reach of the Metro and mainline. The Rue du Fauborg is an exciting street (although quiet enough to sleep). It has many bars / restaurants along it. Due to this being an ethnic quarter of Paris there are many Indian / Albanian and other ethnic restaurants. Of course there are also the traditional french bars and brasseries selling steak, chips, red wine and beer. As these tend to be inhabited by the French rather than tourists they are reasonably priced. Price The hotel...

honey000 19.10.2007 · Read review
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Review of Hotel Aris Nord, Paris