Wederganger: "Halfvergaan Ontwaakt"

Wederganger is Dutch for "one who walks again". This band is obsessed with folklore about the undead and they have a pretty creepy sound to compliment this. The vocals one is lower and chanted the other is a black metal rasp.This is done through the use of two singers, neither of which is credited with playing and instrument.  Of course I am going to think that They are more interesting when they are trying to be spooky and not just blasting at you. They do catch a good galloping groove when they come out the blast to make up for it. While they are not straight forward black metal and owe equal parts to the first and second wave, they are still raw enough to appease black metal purists. Some of the more thrashing chugs are pleasing to the ears , but very familiar.

"Dodendans" slows into a more Burzum like dissonance, though the bellowing baritone clean vocals croon over this . This might remind you a little of Urfaust. The vocals have a somewhat operatic quality to them, and its good to hear a basso that can sing.The guitar melody gives a call and response to the vocals. Ok the entire album isn't about the undead they also have a song about were wolves , which starts with a pretty nasty grinding groove. Ebbing and flowing back and forth from blast beats at least gives them more dynamic impact. The creepy guitar sound returns and then somewhat carries over into "Vlammenvonnis" or "flames verdict" though the root of it is french that is the rough translation from Dutch. The clean vocals bellow out over the beginning and trade places with the nasty raspy ones which are eventually layered around one another. The blast section to this song seems a little obligatory.

A piano interlude precede the throbbing chug of "Walmend Graf" or smokey grave. Midpaced and powerful this one commands you to head bang. There is a similar mid paced classic metal power to the closing song "Dark Thoughts" the vocals are almost more spoken, before the cool doom ridden turn around the song uses to bridge the verse riff.They speed up into a more typical black metal pace before the end , but it doesn't strike me as being beaten to death. I really enjoyed this album I'll round it up to a 9, for any one who is tired of just blast beats and has an appreciate for the first wave of black metal along with an hear towards tomorrow.



Van Records is releasing this on the 28th. Go worship death gods and like us on Facebook.

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