Duivel – Tirades uit de Hel

Duivel – Tirades uit de Hel

Germany’s Ván Records currently holds some of the Netherlands’ best atmospheric, raw and /or obscure black metal on its roster including Kwade Droes, Bezwering (previously Wederganger) and Urfaust. From those same ranks, the Dutch formation Duivel arose from the underground with their new album ‘Tirades uit de Hel’, while the world and society were crippled by the fear of the pandemic. What better time to release a black metal record?

The album starts with “Schim der Wreken” and the listener is welcomed with a fierce assault of crunchy riffs, raspy vocals, pummeling drums and speed thrash-like solo’s near the end of the song. If you hadn’t noticed yet, this is old school, raw black metal at its best. While yours truly is not always a fan of raw production, in this case it actually enhances the sound of this record rather than damaging it.

On the more mid-tempo tune “Offerande aan de Schimmen der Afgestorvenen”, the eerie keyboards get a more prominent role. It’s a bit unexpected, but various song sections with these keys are among the best of ‘Tirades uit de Hel’. Take the interwoven haunting melodies on “Het Zwarte Hart van Walging”: the song never loses its gritty character while this theme captivates you and it might even be called catchy.

The black ‘n roll riffs of “Dolend Verteerd” make sure that the listener isn’t lost in the ghostly tunes of the previous track. The roaring vocals on this song (especially near the end) give it an extra vile atmosphere. A side note: the vocals on the record are sung by four different people (details below). While some of the vocals sound more high pitched, thin and raspy (“Sluimering van de Dood”) and others deeper and colossal, the voices adhere to the same raggedness and blend in well together and with the music.

The slightly suprising conclusion (since I generally am more into ‘polished’ productions or even styles of black metal) is that after listening to this twice, I was hooked on ‘Tirades uit de Hel’. It is an excellent debut that will blast through my speakers a lot more. The devil and his tricks..

Rating: 8/10
Tracklist:
1. Schim der Wreken (03:24)
2. Offerande aan de Schimmen der Afgestorvenen (04:46)
3. Het Zwarte Hart van Walging (06:55)
4. Dolend Verteerd (06:53)
5. Hond der Primaten (06:47)
6. Sluimering van de Dood (05:09)

Words by Laetitia

Release date: April 2, 2020
Ván Records

Line-up:
Guitars – N (Urfaust, Botulistum, ex-Fluisterwoud)
Drums – D (D.R.E.P.)
Bass – P (Black Anvil)
Synth – K
Vocals track 1, track 3, track 5 – S (Galgeras, ex-Fluisterwoud)
Vocals track 2 – B (ex-Lugubrum)
Vocals track 4 – W (Urfaust, The Spirit Cabinet)
Vocals track 6 – V (Vaal, Ravenzang

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