When you think of Dutch folk metal, Heidevolk will probably be one the first bands that will come to your mind. One of the founding members of this band, Joris left the band in 2013 and put his focus on different black metal bands and projects afterwards. In 2020 however, Alvader was founded by him. Adding some fellow old, longtime, Heidevolk members and other musicians to the lineup, the band was complete in 2023. A comparison between Alvader and Heidevolk is easily made. In fact, it is quite hard nót to make a comparison between both bands. I don’t want to make this entire review about the fact how similar the sound it, but if you want a written glimpse of Alvader their just released debut album ‘Hereniging’’s sound; it’s sound very much like the older Heidevolk albums, but with just a bit more heavy metal influences here and there, and this is where I’m going to leave the comparison.
Before finally self-releasing ‘Hereniging’ (which means ‘Reunion’, in case you were wondering), two singles already were released in earlier years: ‘Alvader’ (in 2021) and ‘Midwinternacht’ (in 2022). Both songs can be found on the album as well, though got rerecorded/mixed/mastered, something I’m glad about because the quality of both songs is much better on the album version; a bit less chaotic and a clearer sound.
The entire album has a very clear sound in fact. Recorded at different places, the final mixing made for a very smooth blend.
All lyrics on the album are written by Joris himself, so it’s no surprise that thematically the songs honour (the history and folklore of) his birth grounds; the province of Gelderland and the Veluwe, in The Netherlands, and his ancestors.
In general, the album is quite mid- and up-tempo, exceptions are ‘Geleid door de speer’ and ‘Schildwal’. The latter one is, to my opinion, is a bit of an off-one on this album, so let me get straight to the only thing I don’t like about the album, which is this song. It’s slower than most of the other songs, vocal-wise getting close to a ballad (though the end of the song speeds up), but not just yet. The set-up of the song is getting close to a duet between lead vocalist Joris and backing vocalist (and bass-player) Ernstjan, with a cheesy chorus; this song simply doesn’t do it for me.
That being said, let’s focus on all the positive things about this album. Being Dutch myself, and happen to come from the same area, I’m glad to hear good quality music being sung in my native language. In general, when the Dutch language is being put to music, it doesn’t always sound that great, but the poetic way in which these songs are written, makes it very pleasant to listen to.
The stories that are told will let many pagan hearts beat faster. The album starts with ‘Vanouds’, a song about the return of the wolf to our country, after being absent for about 150 years. No smooth intro, but immediately starting with a big bang, the tune is set for the rest of the album. Steady drumming and catchy guitar riffs mark this song, that fluently passes into ‘Broederband’, which has a bit more of a heavy metal sound to it, thanks to the guitars and their solos that dominate this song. The same goes for last song of the album ‘De laatste strijd’ which is also one of my personal favourites on this album.
‘Midwinternacht’ and ‘Alvader’ the already released songs, turn up the beat quite a bit, and lots of blast beats can be heard here, definitely good songs to start a moshpit on during a live performance. As a matter of fact, the band already performed the entire album live, back in January this year, and moshpits weren’t unfamiliar that evening!
One of my other favourites on this album is ‘Herenigd in de hal’, mainly because of the strong vocal lines that really burst out during the song, but also I find that this song really sums up the essence of the band; catchy but tight riffs, steady drumming, spot on vocals (main and backing), everything is right about this song. Add a nice guitar solo to the mix and voila!
To conclude, I want to compliment the band for creating such a tight and clean debut album, it shows that the band exists of experienced musicians. The songs create a certain grounding feeling to regions familiar to me, and even though they might be unfamiliar to others, the feeling ancestral pride (not in the wrong way) will shine through. The general sound isn’t a new sound, but a good one, that works, so if you’re in to (Dutch) pagan metal, go listen to it!
Review by: Ingrid
Releasedate: April 10th 2024
Self- Released
Rating: 8.5/10
Tracklist:
- Vanouds
- Broederband
- Midwinternacht
- Geleid door de speer
- Herenigd in de hal
- Schildwal
- Alvader
- De laatste strijd
