Released - 14th January 2022
Label -Century Media
2021 has come and gone. We now find ourselves staring into the abyss of January 2022. Let alone, with this pandemic seeming longer than a mumbling speech by Boris Johnson, the weather is bleak and, at the time of writing this the nights draw in at 4pm. So, with the darkness still shrouding us, what better way to pick yourself up than a nice big slab of Belgian Black Metal?
Wiegedood formed in 2014, make pure visceral black metal. Since their inception, they have released three (incredible) albums. Their debut De Doden Hebben Het Goed (2015) was followed by two subsequent albums, Doden Hebben Het Goed II & III, released in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
The sheer ferocity of the latest release is exactly what is needed to blow the cobwebs off of 2021. No sitting around and feeling sorry for one’s self, this album means business from the first track to the last. The heavy sections are relentless, played at a high tempo and the vocals, oh the vocals, harrowed and pained are the icing on this blackened cake.
The arrangements on the album are terrific, from bludgeoning, devastating sections that transcend into more ‘softer’ passages. Check out ‘And in Old Salamano’s Room The Dog Whimpered Softly’, for instance.
This album is rife with paths that make the listener uncomfortable and edgy, Theft & Begging being a prime example of this. The last thirty seconds of the track makes you want curl up into a ball and suck your thumb in a corner.
Nuages, shows Wiegewood at their most brilliant. Pure brutality before lulling into a chugging riff coupled with chilling samples of a man being tortured, it’s an engrossing track; in a weird perverted way. The beauty of this album is the production and the mix, albeit lower end than most modern BM albums each instrument is wonderfully balanced in the mix and, the vocals sit perfectly in there, not taking centre stage but enough presence to give the listener that unnerving sensation. The drums, especially in the lulls of the album have the same feeling as early Burzum records which only compliments the record.
Closing song, and single, Carousel shows vocalist and guitarist Levy Seynaeve at his most tormenting. Vocals leaning towards Attila (Mayhem) with guitar lines that are so engrossing it feels like being under a spell.
Black Metal – in most cases- is always about being dark and bleak. Wiegedood, to that end, have created a typical vitriol and punishing album worthy of all the accolades that will inevitably be coming their way. Now, if covid would kindly do one, we can see Wiegewdood on stages unleashing this torrent of aural abuse!
8/10
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