Back in the year of 2019 I managed to review the first release of the Dutch outfit Perfide. It concerned a demo on which I drew the conclusion that I was eager to listen a full length in the near future (you can read the review here). And now, after almost four years, Perfide finally delivered its debut full-length album, which consists of ten songs. I did not mention ten new songs because the last track “De Molenaar van Maasniel” has already been recorded on the demo.
A lot of Dutch black metal acts use Dutch lyrics, folklore and history as input for their songs. With Perfide this is also the case but they have the guts to simply call their album “De Republiek der zeven Verenigde landen” so you know what to expect. It goes back to the days where The Netherlands were a confederation of seven sovereign regions. It was the time that the famous painter Rembrandt thrived but the Dutchies also roamed the sea and set shore to trade and “share” our Christian beliefs.
I regard the topics and themes used on this album as highly interesting. Musically, we are treated with orthodox black metal. The production of this cassette/vinyl is fitting, yet pretty low-fi. It sounds like they put their gear in a dungeon and recorded everything in a few goes. But this gives the recording certain charm and of course is fitting with the music and genre in which Perfide operates as well. All of the ten presented songs are short and compact. The production is as dry as a moor which hasn’t seen rain for three months.
The album starts with “De Herbergier van Maasniel” which is a pretty straight forward track and has a chilling, ice cold riff with a venomous kick. “Voor het Vaderland” has the same approach albeit with a lead guitar that is mixed above the rest of the instruments. And that’s a pity since I don’t like the sound. It sounds rather simplistic and is mixed in an awful way. Simply put: it distracts me from the song itself. A shame because if this recording had a better balance it was far, and I must emphasise far more enjoyable. This is also the case with “De eerste VOC Reis” and the majority of the tracks offered.
Luckily, there are a few tracks such as “Dat Dorp aan de Zuyderzee” and “De Molenaar van Maasniel” that don’t have this annoying lead guitar. And the track “De Gehoornde Heer” even offers a more balanced mix. These tracks really stand out on this recording and really show the capacity of this Dutch black metal outfit.
Besides the above I would like to mention that Perfide put a lot of creativity in this album. The lyrics are really interesting (if you can’t understand Dutch, please translate it) and the songs are quite original. At first glance all the tracks seem relatively straight forward but if you listen to this album a few times these lads manage to implement some additional layers in the music with cleverly using bass patterns and tempo shifts. It makes this album slightly more experimental and gives Perfide a distinctive identity.
So dear reader, I think it is best for you to decide whether you can appreciate “De Republiek der zeven verenigde Nederlanden.” It could very well be that you aren’t bothered by my negative comments. When this is the case you can easily add one point on top of my score. All in all this album isn’t something Perfide has to be ashamed of. And if you can appreciate this record you should hurry because this release has a very limited amount of copies.
Rating: 7 / 10
Label: Zwaertgevegt
Release date: 27 March 2023
Review made by: Erik
Tracklist:
- De Herbergier van Maasniel
- Voor het Vaderland
- De eerste VOC reis
- Delfshaven 1628
- De Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden
- Staten-Generaal der Nederlanden
- Schuttersgilde
- Dat dorp aan de Zuyderzee
- De gehoornde Heer
- De molenaar van Maasniel
