Van Records

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    Wederganger - Halfvergaan ontwaakt (2015)

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    Dutch Black Metal is not something you hear every day; however, today we have Wederganger and their demoralizing debut full-length “Halfvergaan ontwaakt”. Featuring eight tracks of punishing Black Metal that has influences from the Norwegian, the Swedish and even the Latin American scenes, all bundled into one destructive wall of sound. Formed in 2013, this is one of the revelation BM bands of 2015, so be warned.

    Opening with the crushing dissonance of “Dwaallichtbezwering”, the bone chilling riffs are nicely offset by the hellish vocals of Botmuyl perfectly combined with the clean efforts of Alfschijn (ex-Heidevolk). The band’s vocal variety just adds an extra layer of originality to a very powerful mixture of BM styles. “Gelderse drek” leads with some very Taake-esque riffs that will infuse instant head banging.

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    Selim Lemouchi & His Enemies - Earth Air Spirit Water Fire (2013)

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    With a very exciting 2013 in terms of music, Ván Records unleashes “Earth Air Spirit Water Fire” just in the nick of time to make it to countless top 10 of the year lists. Selim Lemouchi & His Enemies delivers five tracks of magical (and sometimes very unsettling) Psychedelic Rock in this unique release. Being less heavy, and more mystical than any of The Devil’s Blood releases, Selim manages to create a very unique atmosphere that nicely flows from start to end.

    Opening with the 10-minute “Chiaroscuro”, we get quite a mood setting introduction with some deranged ramblings in some audio-clips followed by a very hypnotic build-up. The vocal arrangements on this track are top-notch and create a very eerie vibe. Farida Lemouchi lends her talents to this very ritualistic and creepy song, marking a very atmospheric and unsettling opening to this release. The psychedelic brilliance continues with the emotive “Next Stop, Universe B.”, where we hear Selim’s signature guitar work in a very retro environment.

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    Saligia - Lvx Aeternae (2013)

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    Keeping their cavernous and compact Black Metal sound from their debut full-length “Sic Transit Gloria Mundi”, today we have Norway’s Saligia and their sickening EP “Lvx Aeternae”. Delivering four track and 25 minutes of truly haunting Black Metal, this band is a combination of the rawness and directness of Watain with sickening atmospheric elements of bands like Bethlehem. If you like your Black Metal to be harsh, but obscure and focused more on cavernous atmospheres over extreme over-the-top tremolo-picking, you are in luck with this release.

    The band blasts this release wide open with the crushing “Per Aspera Ad Astra”. In this track Ahzari’s powerful vocals make up for 60% of the overall raw power of their sound, while his pulsating bass guitar line adds to the destruction. The cavernous atmosphere continue with the album title track, but make no mistake and think the production is weak, since you can listen clearly to every single cymbal of V’s drums.

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    Selim Lemouchi & His Enemies - Mens Animus Corpus (2013)

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    Being highly shocked by the sudden disbandment of The Devil’s Blood, we received the news of Selim Lemouchi continuing doing music under a new moniker with high hopes and expectations. Under his new ‘band name’ Selim Lemouchi & His Enemies, Selim delivers this short but sweet EP featuring three songs of trippy and engaging Occult/Psychedelic Rock music. While not as explosive and catchy as The Devil’s Blood pre-breakup material, all the tracks presented here have that sense of melody and weirdness that we loved so much from TDB.

    Opening with “Echaton”, we immediately feel the dark atmosphere descend upon us. The Doomy and Occult vibe in this track is quite thick and enjoyable since it reminds us a bit of Jex Thoth and her enigmatic music. This track is quite relaxing and mysterious, with very soothing guitars and hypnotic drums. “Thistle” is a track that has a familiar TDB vibe, but with a more direct and less polished approach. The vocals are quite fitting for the music and greatly enhance the experience.

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    Gold – Interbellum (2012)

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    After striking gold with The Devil’s Blood and their intoxicating sound, Ván Records brings to us Gold, a female-led Hard Rock band from the Netherlands. With a style similar to label mates Vanderbuyst but a little bit darker, this band delivers nine songs of catchy and well-constructed Rock songs that have a warm and fuzzy feeling that is rare these days. Thanks to the fresh and unique voice of Milena Eva, this band has a good fighting chance against a very tough competition in such a crowded genre.

    Since the opener “One of Us”, we can hear the band’s excellent abilities to craft catchy hard-rocking music, but it is Milena who steals the show with her very unique voice. With the guitar work being pretty solid, the catchy chorus sections of tracks like “Antebellum” and “Love, The Magician”, are what really hooks the listener into liking the band. “Gone Under”, shows a more playful side of the band that nicely combines the heavy guitar work with a more pop-ish vocal structure that works wonders and nicely gives the band a refreshing approach to the genre.

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    Freitod – Regenjahre (2012)

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    Delivering a very interesting combination of Black Metal with some Gothic/Dark Metal elements, today we have Germany’s Freitod and their sophomore release “Regenjahre”. This journey through seven tracks and 52 minutes of brilliantly crafted music is a very unique one since the band keeps a perfect balance between harsh and aggressive Black Metal brush strokes and highly melancholic overtones creating a lush Post-Black Metal experience.

    The album start with the title track and the band immediately sets the mood with excellent guitar work and a very catchy pace. The melodic aspect of Freitod is excellent and on tracks like this one they use it perfectly. Combining crushing harsh vocals with dreamy Gothic Metal/Rock clean vocal sections the band creates a very unique and melancholic atmosphere. The band further uses these tools to contrast the brutality of their Black Metal roots with their lush melancholic side, and tracks like “Der Traumsturm” and “Neue Wege” are clear examples of this.

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    The Devil’s Blood – The Thousandfold Epicentre (2011)

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    As one of the most anticipated releases of 2011, “The Thousandfold Epicenter” delivers in every single aspect and considerably surpasses all expectation we had from The Devil’s Blood. In this release we are treated to 11 tracks of brilliant composition and intelligently transmitted emotions that will either captivate you due to its very catchy nature or its highly interesting ideological nature. The band spares no expense in providing a very insightful release, both musically and lyrically.

    After their amazing 2009 release “The Time Of No Time Evermore”, this band blew us away immediately with their high-octane psychedelic/occult rock sound that while many bands mimic, this band is the real deal. Lead by the mysterious SL/TDB/A-O and fronted by the powerful female vocals of F/TDB/MOS, this band is the real deal when it comes to mixing psychedelic music with occult references and ideas. The band’s persona is surrounded by mystery and large amounts of symbology, allowing all people that like to dig into things to enjoy countless hours trying to identify each little (and carefully crafted) detail behind the band.

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    Vanderbuyst – In Dutch (2011)

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    As a very entertaining ‘blast-from-the-past’, today we have Vanderbuyst and their latest release “In Dutch”. In this release, the band returns with eight hard-hitting and hard-rocking songs that will immediately command your attention. If you are a fan of 70’s Hard Rock with a little Metal twist, this release will have you raving for the next few months.

    Opening with catchy riffing and very effective vocals, “Black and Blue” delivers the perfect opener for a very memorable release. The chorus section is very simple and super catchy, a signature of these types of songs. The guitar solos are also another thing to notice since they are all perfectly placed through the track. Moving into more melodic and catchier territory, “Into the Fire” is our favorite song of this release due to its epic opening section. The paring of guitar solos, pounding bass guitar line and the overall melody of this the opener of this track makes it magical.

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    Year of the Goat – Lucem Ferre (2011)

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    Keeping the flam alive of 60’s and 70’s Psychedelic Rock, today we have the Swedes of Year of the Goat and their debut MCD “Lucem Ferre”. In this action packed 4 song release, the band shows their chops at creating dark anthems of pure evil just the right old-school vibe.

    With the opening track “Of Darkness”, the band immediately turns back the pages of time and involves you in a magical atmosphere that only very few band’s can achieve these days. The guitars are spot on and the overall pacing of the song is just perfect. The vocals are greatly executed and the layering added provides the typical vibe for the genre.

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    Joyless – Without Support (2011)

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    Formed by members of Forgotten Tomb, today we have Joyless and their first full-length release in 10 years titled “Without Support”. In this release the band gives us 11 tunes of Psychedelic/Depressive Rock with a very dark and minimalistic approach to music.

    Lead by the charming (and depressing) voice of Ida Helleboe, the band rocks out songs that will definitely fit a rainy day mood and will depress the life out of the listener. After changing from Black Metal to Depressive Rock in their amazing “Wisdom & Arrogance” album back in 2000, the band has been releasing a series of split releases culminating in “Without Support”.

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