Amenra are one of the most powerful and important underground bands of the last 20 years. It’s a bold statement, but one that cannot be ignored. Their influence as artists spreads far and wide across the European heavy music scene, so much so that an entire collective of bands exists that share similar musical ideas, bleak aesthetics and, most pertinently, band members. This group, known as the Church Of Ra, includes such respected and feared acts as The Black Heart Rebellion, Hessian A.D., and recipients of Punktastic’s 2016 Album Of The Year accolade, Oathbreaker. The newest band to spring from this well of talent is Wiegedood, whose debut album ‘De Doden Hebben Het Goed’ (roughly translating as ‘The Dead Are Doing Well’) appeared just two short years ago to widespread acclaim. That album captured a dark, foreboding atmosphere with its gloomy, caustic black metal approach, and set the band apart as one of the most exciting new acts in Europe.
Now in early 2017, Wiegedood are back with the follow-up, appropriately titled ‘De Doden Hebben Het Goed II’, and though we’re still very much in the realm of bleak and dreary black metal, the band have stepped up many gears in their approach to composition this time around. Right from the outset there is a far more direct, venomous approach to Wiegedood’s sound than the last record – though far removed from Deafheaven’s glimmering blackgaze, ‘De Doden…’ had a hazy wash of guitars over it that sounded expansive and epic. In contrast, ‘De Doden…II’ is stacked with nimble, serpentine riffing that brings to mind progressive black metal titans Krallice. It’s a change that might be lost on more casual fans of extreme music, but the difference in the overall feel of the record is astonishing. The first record was an oppressive and challenging listen, and was without doubt incredibly heavy, but its sequel feels more dangerous in its intent.
Clearly the band – comprised of Gilles Demolder (Oathbreaker), Wim Coppers (ex-Rise And Fall, now also Oathbreaker) and Levy Seynaeve (Amenra, Hessian A.D.) – have spent the last two years fine-tuning their individual skills and chemistry as a single unit. Finding the time to grow so dramatically whilst their members have been so busy elsewhere is incredibly impressive; considering that two thirds of this band recorded and toured Oathbreaker’s stunning ‘Rheia’ last year as well as writing and tracking this record is absolutely astounding.
The record kicks off with ‘Ontzielling’, which opens with a barrage of Demolder and Seynaeve’s barbaric riffing and savage double-kick courtesy of Coppers, arguably one of the finest hardcore and metal drummers operating today, before launching into the first of many head-spinning passages of blastbeats and nerve-shredding guitar work. The playing on ‘De Doden…II’ is absolutely stellar throughout, the band locking in together to create a wall of seething heaviness. There are moments of relative quiet on the record, such as the first few minutes of the title track, though by no means are these brief passages of respite in any way pretty or soothing. Seynaeve’s harrowing vocals ensure that even when the thunderous drums and distorted guitars drop out, it’s still an intensely uneasy listen. In the best possible way, of course. His performance is frighteningly intense throughout, even to the very last seconds; final track ‘Smeekbede’ ends with a painfully long and drawn-out screech that must’ve ripped the man’s voice to shreds. The agonising effect is unquestionable though, and further cements Wiegedood’s unflinching commitment to their dark art.
There are recognisable strains of each of the members’ other/former bands that seep into Wiegedood’s sound, from Oathbreaker’s harrowing blackened hardcore to the rugged aggression of Rise And Fall, and most viscerally in the dense and oppressive fog of misery that Amenra have made their own. These ingredients mixed together have resulted in one of the most fearsome black metal bands the world has seen in recent years, a feat even more astonishing when considering that all of these seed bands are far more rooted in the hardcore genre (even Amenra are closer to a post-metal or doom band than anything you might associate with corpse-painted Norwegians). The band’s first album was a stunning debut, however ‘De Doden Hebben Het Goed II’ takes every foundation and builds terrifying new structures upon them, resulting in a thoroughly chilling, intense, yet deeply satisfying listen.
JAMES LEE