A 4-way spawn out the dark crevices from the depths of The Netherlands. Presented by Hellevaerder, Duindwaler, Schavot and Asgrauw. Released by Zwaertgevegt on the 13th of October. ‘Verloren Vertellingen’ would be translated to ‘Lost Tales’. Presented with 8 pitch black metal tracks, ‘Verloren Vertellingen’ will present to you why Dutch black metal is alive and thriving.
As said, Hellevaerder opens the 4-way spawn with their ‘In Mijn Hand Werd Zij As’ (In My Hand She Became Ashes) and ‘Als De Nacht Wederkeert’ (When the Night Returns). Hellevaerder presents their black metal straight forward with no holding back. Armed with the ability to entrance you with their mesmerizing riffs, Hellevaerder shows no intention of letting you get out of their enthralling trance. This is a recurring pattern in their releases outside of ‘Verloren Vertellingen’. Entrancing, mesmerizing and haunting, those are the best way to describe the new tracks from Hellevaerder.
The following artist that smears their blackened metal on the slab of vinyl, is the Hellevaerder’s drummer Duindwaler. As one of the two solo projects on ‘Verloren Vertellingen’, Duindwaler is the newest spawn of them both. The Duindwaler sound is more ferocious than the mesmerizing Hellevaerder. Ferocious could be described in many ways and Duindwaler does it in his own raw and harsh way. Long and familiar fast dragging black metal riffs fill Duindwalers side of ‘Verloren Vertellingen’. ‘De Zieleneter’ and ‘Alles is het waard’ are highly valued for a couple of replays for sure. Quality craftsmanship right here.
Schavot. A one-man project from the blackened brain of Flors from Meslamtaea, Sagenland, Annwfyn and Asgrauw. Schavot has already passed into Dutch black metal sagas with his phenomenal ‘Kronieken Uit De Nevel’ and ‘Galgenbrok’ releases. Floris is a household name in the Dutch black metal scene and you can hear that in his releases. He managed to do that too with Schavot on ‘Verloren Vertellingen’. With a much more of a ‘90’s approach to his black metal, Schavot presents us a symphonic epic with his contribution to ‘Verloren Vertellingen’ in the shape of the extremely melodic ‘Pieel’ and ‘Waart Oe!’. The sound Schavot presents adds more than the ears can hear to the sound with spoken word, melodic and symphonic elements that you can find on those storytelling black metal epics like Agalloch minus the extremely long nature sounds etc. Schavot adds more to the table than listening to mid-paced tree-noises black metal.
Onwards to the last but probably the most known band on ‘Verloren Vertellingen’, Asgrauw. Being active for over a decade, Asgrauw has made their appearance known in the Dutch (black) metal scene. Asgrauw is known for their fast paced punk-like black metal. With the excellent vocal styles of both Kaos and Vaal, Asgrauw grabs the attention of every (black) metal enthusiast with their balanced vocals all the way through the two tracks they contribute to ‘Verloren Vertellingen’, ‘Ongeneu.jd’ and ‘Na.chtgra.ver’. The accessible black metal of Asgrauw is perfectly balanced between the furiousness of what ‘90’s influenced black metal and the modern ferociousness of Dutch black metal like what Duindwaler and Hellevaerder have to offer alongside their own punk-like black influences.
‘Verloren Vertellingen’ is the pinnacle of the modern-day offerings of the Dutch black metal scene. Hellevaerder, Duindwaler, Schavot and Asgrauw make the Dutch proud again with this amazing highly anticipated 4-way split LP that will be released on the 13th of October through Zwaertgevegt.
Hellevaerder/Duindwaler/Schavot/Asgrauw – Verloren vertellingen (Zwaertgevegt 13-10-2023)
1. Hellevaerder – In mijn hand werd zij as
2. Hellevaerder – Als de nacht wederkeert
3. Duindwaler – De zieleneter
4. Duindwaler – Alles is het waard
5. Schavot – Pieël
6. Schavot – Waart Oe! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV2GAYredtU)
7. Asgrauw – Ongeneu.jd
8. Asgrauw – Na.chtgra.ver (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip0rutMxXG0)