Band:	Hortus Animae
Album:	The Blow Of Furious Winds...
Style:	Symphonic black metal
Release date:	September 12, 2005
A review by:	Undercraft

01. Furious Winds / Locusts
02. The Mud And The Blood / Funeral Nation
03. The Heartfelt Murder
04. The Virgin Whore
05. In Adoration Of The Weeping Skies
06. Across The Sea Of Pain
07. Bible Black
08. A Gothic Ghost / The Death Of All Beauty
09. Garden Of Fairies
10. The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke / Nevermore [Queen cover] [bonus]
11. Windfall Introducing Summoning Of The Muse [Dead Can Dance cover] [bonus]

The Joy Of Furious Music

Hortus Animae (Latin for "the garden of the soul") is a band that has been around almost 10 years now, making exceptional well crafted extreme music rooted in Black Metal and some other genres such as Gothic Metal, the result is a interesting collage of various influences and moods.

The best way I could find to describe Hortus Animae would be "romantic". While the music is not bland at all, it has a romantic feel to it. Like I mentioned before, the band is firmly rooted on Black metal, but they aren't afraid to add some other obvious influences such as Gothic Metal and other styles of music, so you can find in a same song blackened blast beats with gloomy whispers, clean vocals, shrieks, violins, keyboard and many other elements.

While at first it seems to much to put in one disc, after a few spins the material starts to make sense and it captivates you with songs like "The Heartfelt Murder", "In Adoration Of The Weeping Skies" or "Garden Of Fairies". Don't forget to check out Dead Can Dance cover "Windfall introducing Summoning Of The Muse" featuring Liv Kristine on vocals and if you're into Queen you'll enjoy the band's rendition of "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke".

This album is surely recommended for open-minded metalheads looking for some variety in their musical selection, Hortus Animae present us a good, solid product, with excellent graphical layout (as always) and interesting, appealing music, and you can quote me on that!