Fluisteraars

Iskandr – Spiritus Sylvestris Review

Iskandr – Spiritus Sylvestris Review

“The Netherlands has a very healthy black metal scene, with many bands using peat-bogs and Germanic folklore as inspiration. Until recently, Iskandr was part of that tradition. Twelve gave the band a mixed review last time, and clearly, this caused a major identity crisis in drummer M. Koops (Fluisteraars et al) and everything-elser O. Iskandr (Dool, Turia et al). Because Spiritus Sylvestris marks a huge shift in the band’s sound, going from shrieking and blastbeats to pastoral atmospheric doom.” Horse of a different color.

Oerheks – Cagghenvinna Review

Oerheks – Cagghenvinna Review

“I know pretty much nothing about Oerheks. Normally, that’s the kind of thing that gives me pause—I’d rather know who I’m writing about, what I’m supporting, and all of those fun details, but given that this Cagghenvinna is the debut album for a Flemish black metal band… well, it comes with the territory. As for what I do know, I’m fairly certain it’s a one-person project, with “H.” as its mastermind; I believe “oerheks” is Dutch, translating into something to the effect of “primal witch;” and I understand H. writes his music inspired “by local myths and lore.”” Flick of the witch.

Alburnum – Buitenlucht Review

Alburnum – Buitenlucht Review

“Certain things just go together. Prawn and avocado. Holdeneye and 4.0s. Ozzy and Black Sabbath. You get the gist. Two of those things are “black metal” and “nature.” From its early pagan roots, black metal has always had a close affinity with the great outdoors, rejecting rigid theism for a more atavistic, mystical spiritualism. It’s why half the shitty black metal videos you see happen in forests or on mountaintops. New Dutch band, Alburnum (another name for “Sapwood”) are therefore trodding well-worn ground; when compatriots, Fluisteraars have an album with flowers all over the cover, you’re going to have a tough time out-naturing the competition.” Play outside!

Freja – Tides Review

Freja – Tides Review

“I’m a simple creature, really. If you make your album even vaguely Nordic-themed, I’ll pay attention. The mythologies that have spawned countless legends, a whole lot of music, and many other artistic expressions are so enduringly popular for a reason, and their themes have similarly lent themselves to some really good metal. Freja is among the newest bands to find influence in this striking topic, a Dutch duo of one C. and W., who describe their style as one of “towering, thundering” atmospheric black metal.” The tides are a raider.

Mystras – Empires Vanquished and Dismantled Review

Mystras – Empires Vanquished and Dismantled Review

“When Mystras’ first outing, Castles Conquered and Reclaimed, dropped last year I expressed some surprise that Ayloss had the capacity to write and release another record, alongside the epic Spectral Lore and Mare Cognitum split, never mind something of the scope of Mystras. Castles paired raw, harsh black metal with traditional medieval folk to offer a scathing and emotive assessment of the poverty, oppression and injustice suffered by medieval European peasants and the sacrifices made to fight back. Scroll forward a year and Mystras is back with their sophomore effort.” Unfathomable productivity.

She Said Destroy – Succession Review

She Said Destroy – Succession Review

“Sifting through the depths of the Angry Metal Guy promo trough recently, I realized I was still riding the high of listening to and processing the new Seven Spires album. I came to the conclusion that I needed a change of musical scenery for my next review. When I came across She Said Destroy’s promo describing genre-bending melodic death metal, I determined the Norwegian band’s latest release might be the album I need to cleanse my musical palate.” Morbid arrangers.

Iskandr – Vergezicht Review

Iskandr – Vergezicht Review

Iskandr is a duo hailing from the Netherlands who purport, on their third full-length release Vergezicht, to play black metal with “battle-hardened” aggression and mythical atmospheres. I mean, what a great intro. I was already intrigued when I learned that the band drummer is one M. Koops, who makes up one half of Fluisteraars, a different black metal band from the Netherlands who stole my heart early last year.” Flying the banners of Dutch black metal.

Fluisteraars – Gegrepen door de geest der zielsontluiking Review

Fluisteraars – Gegrepen door de geest der zielsontluiking Review

Fluisteraars was undoubtedly my biggest surprise discovery of 2020. Everything about Bloem was simultaneously right for me and completely wrong for me. But I came back to it, again and again, and finally, it wormed its way onto my year-end list and continues to be a staple of my listening for long walks on the side of the road. I was stunned to learn that they had a new album coming this year, but looking forward to new material from these guys.” Flowers of melo-evil.

Bezwering – Aan De Wormen Overgeleverd Review

Bezwering – Aan De Wormen Overgeleverd Review

Bezwering are traditional in more than one sense of the word. Musically they’re simple straight-up black metal, their wave-quotient roughly 1.7 (mostly second wave with some hints of first wave). There’s some decent riffs and good energy in these tracks, featuring a pretty nasty screech and frantic blastbeats atop swirling tremolos. That describes 98% of all black metal, so to stand out from the crowd, Bezwering brought three weapons.” Wormen problems.