ALBUM REVIEW: Vossenkuil – Ande
Belgium’s ANDE are emerging as one of the many hidden gems of the Belgian extreme metal scene. A one man affair, the bands mastermind, Jim Christiaens, is able to craft some incredibly vibrant atmospheric black metal, with each of the bands albums, from their 2015 debut Licht onward, expanding and varying the bands sound and style, with each of their three albums being just a little bit longer and just that bit more impressive musically. Their latest full length, Vossenkuil, is arguably their best and most ambitious to date, proving to be the bands current creative zenith.
After the brief, ambient Aanvang sets the tone, the album proper begins with Nachtwandeling, a bleak and caustic slab of black metal with tight guitars, visceral vocals and some punishing drumming. It sets a steady, morose tone throughout, with a few more focused, ferocious moments thrown in for good measure. It’s a solid, if slightly underwhelming, way to kick the album off, but it nonetheless packs a punch. Beverdansen makes use of dissonant chords, sonorous vocal passages and minimalist, melodic flourishes, making for a dark and brooding listen. It’s a much more acerbic and fierce effort than the previous track, using expansive rhythms to create a song that is as monolithic as it is melancholic. Eeuwig vuur takes the music down a far different route, with cleaner guitar tones and more subdued vocals and percussion providing a softer, almost post-rock/shoegaze feel that diversifies the albums sound quite a bit, with sharp, crisp guitars carrying the music, making for a great change of pace that does a fantastic job of grabbing the listeners attention.
De hutten once again shifts the sound of the album, doing a complete u-turn and contrasting the previous song with some incredibly raw and venomous black metal with a classic sound. The grating rhythm guitars and rabid vocals are a great foundation for this songs sound, with slick lead guitar hooks and machine gun precise drumming making for a discordant and impressive aural assault that is a massive departure from the ethereal quality of the music that has appears so far. Mijn koninkrijk van groen, a song that was originally released by experimental black metallers LUGUBRUM, manages to stay true to the music of the original whilst adding a little of ANDE‘s sublime elements to the music. The great, off kilter hooks of the original are complemented extremely well by the powerful, atmospheric edge that characterises the vast majority of ANDE‘s music. It’s a great rendition of an already brilliant track that doesn’t feel out of place of the record.
Sneeuw op het meer, much like De hutten blends an old school black metal sound and performance with glorious atmospherics, with harsher guitars and vocals sitting well alongside airy, haunting leads and cavernous drums. It’s another really good offering that bridges the gap between black metal’s classic sound and a fresher, more atmosphere driven one. Afsluiting brings the album full circle, with ambient keyboards and light, melodious guitar sections blending together and giving the end of this record of much more angelic feel, not unlike the short piece that opened this album, ending this album on a memorable and impressive note.
Although there are a few moments on here that could have been a little stronger, there’s plenty of great music on offer here. Vossenkuil is very much an album that gets better as it progresses, gathering momentum and slowly but surely injecting new ideas and elements in to the sound and the style on offer, making for an eclectic and brilliant record. The further expansion of the band’s sound has paid off, and it will be interesting to see how ANDE are able to surpass this with their next record.
Rating: 8/10
Vossenkuil is out now via self release.
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