ALBUM REVIEW: Jacht der Mysteriën – Fluisteraars

Music may seem predictable most of the time, but there is a rare album that attempts at being completely unpredictable. Unless you are a progressive rock or metal band, normally, you would not even think of attempting to write a song that is over 10 minutes long. A rare group will, and Dutch duo FLUISTERAARS are exactly that. A couple of musicians who always try to conceptualise something out of the box. This time, on Jacht der Mystweiën, this ambition leads to a release which has a lot of wasted potential.

The third and final track on this album, Zwarte Zomermaan tracks in at just under 18 minutes in length and is easily the most experimental and ambitious of the trio. Even though this and the other couple of songs are all long, they are divided into sections to add some variety to each. Zwarte Zomermaan starts off with a basic drum fill before the consistent double bass drum work kicks in which is matched with a melodic yet simple guitar riff joins in. This lasts for just under a minute, before the riff changes slightly, preparing for the introduction of the vocals. When the vocals do join in for the first time, the original guitar riff from the intro returns.

Following this initial section, the main riff vanishes, and a brand new, similar sounding riff arrives. After a minute of this riff being played on its own, the vocals return, slightly changed, but still having that iconic sound B. Mollema captures, and towards the end of this segment, the vocals slow down. This results in the guitar riffs to decrease in pace as the next section arrives.

This is when the ambition comes in. This third section is disturbing, eery and perfect for a horror movie soundtrack. It is menacingly slow, and features distorted guitars only, with background noises being added into the mix. Despite this, the riffs played here are once again repetitive and can be related to the intro riff from the beginning of this song. This just lasts a minute however, as within almost no time at all, the full wall of sound returns. This section is incredibly long and seems uninspired considering what came before it up to this point. There is one final section which finishes the song up, but once again, it is way too long and repetitive, but it is much more peaceful both in terms of sound and instrumentals. This should not work, but it gives the album a definitive close.

Overall, this album is incredibly long for what it aims to be. Musically, the sections are long, yet minimalist. This makes for an experience that is unexpected at times, and partially dull at times too. When the music is good though, it is excellent, and if the songs were shortened down, they would seem much more impactful. These long songs are what FLUISTERAARS built their reputation around though, and this record showcases that not only do they not plan on stopping this formula, FLUISTERAARS are attempting to change their craft and sound, in the only proper way, being as ambitious as possible.

Rating: 5/10

Jacht der Mysteriën is set for release on September 11th via Eisenwald. 

For more information on FLUISTERAARS like their official page on Facebook.