Review by Felix on February 12, 2023.

Bezwering hail from the Netherlands and their second full-length called Dodenkroning is full of surprises (at least for me who is not familiar with their debut so far) and stylistic variations. It begins with a Darkthrone-like guitars (from the “The Cult Is Alive” period), but already the opener features some unexpected theatrical, clear vocals. The second number, 'Nijd', spreads a touch of industrial “Cyberchrist” (Impaled Nazarene) vibes. A total failure waits for the listener on track nine, a kind of coffeehouse music, harmless, lame and boring, that could have been written by Nattefrost in a very special and useless mood. Thank God, this is the absolute outsider on this album.

Anyway, let’s come back to the clean singing. They characterize especially 'Ontaarding', where harsh, demonic voices a hardly to find. It’s an impressive performance of the lead vocalist whose contribution goes hand in hand with the uniform, stoic guitars. The Dutch dudes show their full potential in this song; and fortunately in some further ones as well. The triple strike at the beginning is a promising start for the well produced album. Guitars, voice and drums get their rightful share, only the bass is hardly audible. Business as usual.

Based on a hostile atmosphere, Bezwering’s songs spread cold and more or less cruel vibrations. The lead singer does not only score with his “normal” voice. He is also able to play the venomous, salivating troll who hates humanity – at least this is what I thought until I took a closer look in the booklet. It reveals that the screams are done by the bass player (his kind of revenge for neglecting his instrument?). Alfschijn, the lead vocalist, contributes only the sublime, heroic, dark yet human sounds. Anyway, the job sharing works. In contrast, there are minor problems with 'Vurzuucht', not a bad piece, but still too long and not focused enough.

Bezwering take an interesting route at the frontier between harmony and brutality. There are a lot of melodic parts, but they do not dilute the black metal aroma. Perhaps you like to check 'Ondergronds', a highlight of the album’s second half, in order to verify my statement. Restless guitar lines stand shoulder to shoulder with the raw vocals of the verses, but the Wagner-esque chorus gives the song an additional colour. Maybe the more or less classic vocals spoil the pleasure for some freaks, but from my point of view, Bezwering do not give us an overdose of histrionic behaviour.

In rare moments, the Dutch combo almost sounds like Candlemass and you guessed it: once again, this is due to the clean vocals. But all in all, Bezwering have the ambition to create an individual sound and in my humble opinion they are successful in doing so. The closer with its morbid guitar lines spits out the listener and releases him again into a world whose coldness is similar to that of Dodenkroning.

Rating: 7.7 out of 10

Review by Fernando on December 21, 2021.

Reviewing demos is always a gamble in almost any genre of music and especially in metal, since for all the bands with great potential, you also come across amateurs who’re in desperate need of a good producer, or the run of the mill worship band. But to be fair, some bands do have some hoops to overcome before they release a proper album, and a demo may be the only chance they get to unleash their music to the world, and today we have a particular black metal act out of Austria by the name of Gha’agsheblah.

Gha’agsheblah are for all intents and purposes and brand new band, formed in 2019 and this demo, titled Demo(N) (get it), is an interesting beast. I’m not gonna talk about the production since that’s a low hanging fruit aspect for a demo, but, one thing I will say is that the extremely raw and lofi production actually gives off a sinister and disturbing vibe to the music itself, which is something hard to achieve since most demos nowadays sound too digital or are downright unlistenable. Gha’agsheblah made good use of this limitation to their benefit. In regards to the music itself, Gha’agsheblah play black metal but there’s something off about it, in a good way. Their style seems to take cues from first wave black metal in the vein of Mortuary Drape and early Bathory. There’s a focus on riffs and vocals that sound evil and wretched, which is bolstered by an intentionally disturbing atmosphere, and what’s weird is how the band accomplished this with no actual embellishments. The atmosphere is the major standout, and it all comes together weirdly but very effectively, which makes me wonder how this band would sound with professional production, since this type of ugly and harsh sound could’ve only be achieved through intentionally crude conditions and equipment.

Overall, Gha’agsheblah really surprised me with their unhinged and necrotic music, but at the same time, due to this release being a demo there’s just so much that can be said. The band are supposedly making their debut record and if anything, this demo succeeded in making me interested in what this band can be furthered down the line. A neat little demo, and a cornerstone for this band.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by Fernando on December 21, 2021.

Reviewing demos is always a gamble in almost any genre of music and especially in metal, since for all the bands with great potential, you also come across amateurs who’re in desperate need of a good producer, or the run of the mill worship band. But to be fair, some bands do have some hoops to overcome before they release a proper album, and a demo may be the only chance they get to unleash their music to the world, and today we have a particular black metal act out of Austria by the name of Gha’agsheblah.

Gha’agsheblah are for all intents and purposes and brand new band, formed in 2019 and this demo, titled Demo(N) (get it), is an interesting beast. I’m not gonna talk about the production since that’s a low hanging fruit aspect for a demo, but, one thing I will say is that the extremely raw and lofi production actually gives off a sinister and disturbing vibe to the music itself, which is something hard to achieve since most demos nowadays sound too digital or are downright unlistenable. Gha’agsheblah made good use of this limitation to their benefit. In regards to the music itself, Gha’agsheblah play black metal but there’s something off about it, in a good way. Their style seems to take cues from first wave black metal in the vein of Mortuary Drape and early Bathory. There’s a focus on riffs and vocals that sound evil and wretched, which is bolstered by an intentionally disturbing atmosphere, and what’s weird is how the band accomplished this with no actual embellishments. The atmosphere is the major standout, and it all comes together weirdly but very effectively, which makes me wonder how this band would sound with professional production, since this type of ugly and harsh sound could’ve only be achieved through intentionally crude conditions and equipment.

Overall, Gha’agsheblah really surprised me with their unhinged and necrotic music, but at the same time, due to this release being a demo there’s just so much that can be said. The band are supposedly making their debut record and if anything, this demo succeeded in making me interested in what this band can be furthered down the line. A neat little demo, and a cornerstone for this band.

Rating: 7 out of 10