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p r e s e n t s

ARTIST   : Wiegedood                          STOREDATE   : 05-08-2015
ALBUM    : De Doden Hebben Het Goed           RIPDATE     : 05-05-2015
YEAR     : 2015                               RUNTIME     : 38:35 min
GENRE    : Black Metal                        LANGUAGE    : Dutch
LABEL    : Consouling Sounds                  GRABBER     : EAC Secure
SOURCE   : CDDA                               ENCODER     : FLAC 1.2.1
QUALITY  : 1014kbps Avg 44.1kHz 2 channels    SIZE        : 292.4MB
URL      : http://tinyurl.com/pdvp3hs         TRACKS      : 4  Files

01  Svanesang                                                    13:00
02  Kwaad Bloed                                                   7:12
03  De Doden Hebben Het Goed                                      6:53
04  Onder.Gaan | Voznesenie                                      11:30

38:35 min

Ever heard about the story from the Indian subcontinent of the blind
men and the elephant? If so, please allow me this digression before
I get into the review of an album (a very good one, by the way) from
a band featuring members of Rise and Fall, Oathbreaker, Hessian and
Amenra, who are all part of Belgium’s Church of Ra metal scene.

The story is about an elephant who wanders into a village and a
group of blind men attempt to ascertain what it is by touching
various parts of its body. “It is a pillar,” claims one with his
arms wrapped around a leg of the beast. “No, it is a rope,” says
another, as he grabs the tail. Still another (holding a tusk)
reckons it is a weapon and another (with his hands on the side of
the elephant) says it’s a wall. The point is that perceptions change
– especially if you don’t have the full story – but you can still
gain something even if you are not sure what it is.

You can tell where this is going, can’t you?

You guessed it, I admit that I listened to this album without ever
hearing a note from any of the bands that the members of Wiegedood
are in: Amenra (guitarist Levy Seynaeve, who is also on vocals
here), Rise And Fall (Wim on drums) and and Oathbreaker (Gilles
Demolder on guitar).

So I can’t tell you how much or little Wiegedood sound like any of
them. Sorry. But in my defence, this album has inspired me to check
all their other bands out. What I can say is that Wiegedood have
managed to create a superb album, that is in parts harsh and bleak
(to be expected from a band whose band translates as ‘cot death’),
like standing facing a gale-force hailstorm, but in other parts
gentle and empowering.

And I can say that the lack of a bass player (the members felt one
was unnecessary) does not detract from the sound at all. If anything
the lack of a bottom end adds to the icy chill of the songs and
causes them to wash over you with even more power.

Like the opener, ‘Svanesang’, a 13-minute number whose blastings are
bisected by a hauntingly beautiful, slow guitar piece, which serves
as an eye of the sonic storm. After the middle section the
wall-of-noise guitars and blast beats return, along with Seynaeve’s
vocals getting ever harsher. But then the song subtly slows, some
and remnants of the quiet section return, as the noise fades. It’s
definitely atmospheric.

Next up is ‘Kwaad Bloed’, which begins with more hail-in-the-face
relentlessness, but then settles into a widescreen onslaught led by
some brilliantly pummeling double-kick drums, with some soaring
guitar work to back up Seynaeve’s tortured (in a good way) howls.
The song finishes with Seynaeve fading into the background, one
guitar playing a dirge and an acoustic guitar playing a melodic
vamp. It’s a nice touch and it gives the listener (and, no doubt,
the drummer) time to breathe.

The third song, the title track which translates roughly as “The
Dead Are Doing Well”, begins with a slow stomp, with the guitars
playing an atonic riff which builds nicely for a couple of minutes,
before Seynaeve comes in with his raspy half-scream, accompanied by
a single guitar. It is bleak, but the band have said that although
they realise that their sound (and name) is not exactly celebratory,
they endeavour to convey the idea that no matter how bad things get,
you have to press on and get on with life. Which is a pretty good
way to live, even if it does sound like training advice for an
ultramarathon.

The album’s closer, the mammoth ‘Onder Gaan’, begins with more blast
beats, interspersed with a thundering chorus. Then the mood of the
song changes from aggression to introspection by the drums slowing
to half speed, backing up a repeating riff to see the song out,
ending as it does with a spoken piece in Russian, from Seynaeve’s
former girlfriend, reciting the lyrics in her native language.

It’s a chilling way to end the album, which is also… actually I’ll
go back to the blind men story for the final description. The last
of the group got sick under one of the elephant’s feet. His verdict:
it’s heavy.

Support and buy.

Extra note: Track 4 has Russian in the title, but taggers go
crazy when entering Russian gobbledigook. We made it readable for
you.

CATARACT: CLOUDING YOUR VISION