ALBUM REVIEW: The Radiant Veil – Hemelbestormer
Belgian instrumental quartet HEMELBESTORMER have been a fascinating anomaly in the heavy music scene for over ten years now, producing an endlessly creative blend of synth-infused post-rock, doomgaze and black metal to conjure up songs that are equal parts expansive, crushing and beautiful. Made up of veterans from the Belgian hardcore and metal community, they aim to soundtrack cosmic journeys through space and time and they continue with that mission on fourth album The Radiant Veil. Conceptually (and strap in for this one), the album is a journey through the solar system as perceived by the Etruscan civilization, an ancient Italian culture that flourished between the 8th and 3rd Centuries BCE before being absorbed into the early Roman Empire.
If that sounds like a pretty hard idea to get your head around, fear not, you don’t need a degree in ancient history to appreciate the eight tracks on offer here, each of which is named after a planet in the old Etruscan language. Opening song Usil (Sun) is a ten minute monster that sets the foundations for the rest of the album perfectly. It almost feels like it soundtracks the Sun’s cycle from sunrise to sunset, starting as it does with dark and powerful riffs and building drums, continuing through a series of driving, almost march-like passages, before reaching a thunderous double kick-led climax at the eight minute mark with the final two minutes taken up with a haunting, reverb-heavy soundscape of synths and picked lead guitars. ‘Atmospheric’ just doesn’t feel like a powerful enough word to convey everything that is going on.
Second track Turms continues in a similar, although slightly less epic, vein and features a guest appearance from Philip Jamieson of CASPIAN, adding some subtle, moody vocals to the mix. It’s another dark opening, reminiscent in parts of a more cosmic-sounding OPETH, chugging riffs and metronomic drums giving way to sections that are cinematic, progressive but undeniably metal. The synths continue to add layers of atmosphere and the production only builds on this, adding richness without sounding over-produced and mechanical. When the vocals arrive, they follow the established guitar patterns brilliantly, the double-tracking building yet further on the feeling that this is a soundtrack for a ship lost deep in space, drifting helplessly onwards into the endless void.
There is subtlety running through the musical core of The Radiant Veil too, as songs like the sombre Turan, the droning Laran and the mighty Tiur demonstrate so well, the latter switching from a brooding verse section before opening out into a huge but melancholic blackened riff-fest, ghostly keyboards still haunting the background. Tiur in particular is a great advert for this album, as it deftly bridges so many genres across its nine and a half minutes without ever sounding repetitive or like it’s running out of ideas.The drumming of Frederik Cosemans also adds an extra musicality across songs like Cel, percussive buildups and tight double-kick work meaning the drums sound like an instrument in their own right, rather than just an accompaniment to the rest of the band.
The Radiant Veil is a real journey across the cosmos, rich in atmosphere and musical depth, sometimes crushingly heavy and at others sparse, strange and haunting. The lack of (regular) vocals might put some off but for those fans of heavy music curious to try some epic, instrumental space metal, you’d be completely mad to miss out on this one.
Rating: 9/10
The Radiant Veil is out now via Pelagic Records.
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