review by: Roberto Martinelli

This album of the ever different and mysterious French black metal project Blut Aus Nord is its most minimal, but by far its most haunting. What you get are six tracks that are all named "The Fall." In the ever-lasting Darkthrone tradition, the tracks on The Mystical Best of Rebellion consist almost entirely of that tried-and-true, danceless black metal beat, in this case courtesy of a drum machine. Unlike Darkthrone, however, the sound isn't thin, but rather cavernous and enveloping. Add to this some of the most stirring, droning, hypnotic, mind-altering black metal sounds coupled with frightening vocals, and you've got an irresistibly compelling album.

In terms of minimalism, this album may set a new standard. Not only is whatever that is pictured on the cover or written on the back faint and hard to read, but the booklet consists of six pages of total black! The whole thing seems to have been the intention of whoever is responsible for the record, as two sentences, "This is the decadent work of another non-musical art" and "dedicated to the memory of Vindsval," are clearly legible.

The Mystical Beast of Rebellion may be non-musical in one point of view, but it nearly sets a new standard for music that is as cold and harsh as it is moving and, yes, beautiful. Even for grizzled black metal veterans, this album by Blut Aus Nord (as well as the band's totally great but utterly different Fathers of an Icy Age) will command attention when played.