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