Following a two-song EP from last year, Dutch black metal band Kwade Droes has released their debut full length De duivel en zijn gore oude kankermoer and it’s a wild and unpredictable ride. The thirty-two minute record may utilize some familiar elements from the rawer end of black metal, but the unpredictably rhythms and transitions scattered throughout merge with the downright psychotic vocals to create something that feels bizarre yet entrancing. It’s likely to be an acquired taste, but those listeners who decide to immerse themselves into this nightmarish landscape will find that this one keeps them coming back to discover what else is lurking beneath the surface.
Before we go any further, let’s talk about just how over the top the vocal work is throughout De duivel en zijn gore oude kankermoer. The album tricks you with its light and airy driven intro, which lasts for all of thirty seconds before the noise level increases one thousand percent. Rather than simply sticking with the standard screams and growls, Kwade Droes has some of the raspiest screaming/shrieking I’ve heard recently and it only gets more deranged and maniacal the further into each song you get. It’s not uncommon for black metal vocalists to sound violent, but here the performance comes off like a man truly possessed and ready to strangle you through your speakers. But it’s not all shrieking either, as “Misdaad loont” has lower pitched screams that are just as intense and nightmarish. It’s impressive that the vocals never lose any intensity and only seem to get even more abrasive the further into the album you get.
De duivel en zijn gore oude kankermoer could probably leave an impression with standard black metal instrumentation given the strength of its vocals, but Kwade Droes goes further than that. There are quite a few passages where the methodical blasting and rawness of the instrumental tone is reminiscent of a number of other bands in the genre (including label mates Sortilegia on “Lood om oud ijzer”), but the transitions keep things unpredictable and fluid. It’s the type of album where certain details might not be apparent the first time through, as you really have to dive underneath the noisiness to make out some of the finer details. When the drums are blasting away full throttle this material is just as raw and overwhelming as one could want, but it’s the sudden drop outs into sparse instrumentation and unexpected melodies that have pulled me back to this one again and again. Just because some melodies have surfaced doesn’t mean that the listener is given a break though, as the piano on “De wrange boodschap” has been recorded in such a way that each note seems to be physically attacking you. By the end of the album it feels like you’ve been through an aural descent into madness, but it’s damn appealing.
Kwade Droes takes elements of raw black metal and spits them back out in a manner similar to a drug trip gone bad. The vocals are genuinely unsettling and the instrumentation has a tendency to shift into something different just when you think you have a particular song figured out. It won’t be for everyone, but for those of you who find that the maniacal and vitriolic nature of the recording appealing this will be an album that sticks with you for some time. De duivel en zijn gore oude kankermoer is out now on Ván Records.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg
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