ConSouling Sounds

Album
Alkerdeel / Morinde
ConSouling Sounds
Release Date: 26/02/2012

Alkerdeel, of Zomergem, East Flanders, aptly bracket themselves as 'blacksludgedoomdrone', so that takes care of that task. 'Morinde' has a kind of sonic chasm running through it, as if the band set up to record in the middle of a blizzard. This effect conjures images of isolation in a hostile environment, even though I have no inkling as to what any of the songs are about. There's an interview request that will hopefully bypass e-mail ping-pong.

A trudge of pure down-tuned dread comes out of the fog on 'Winterteens'. The vocals are the kind of vampiric scream you'd expect, though they are saturated in reverb for extra impenetrability. Apropos of satan-knows-what, it speeds up to a black metal blast, with immersive sheets of guitar and an unconventional melodic bassline stretching over 13 disorienting minutes. 'Horsesaw', in contrast, is a short sharp shock that harks right back to the old school of Hellhammer or even Venom, with thrashy tempos and Driller Killer guitar. The vocals, too, revert to a more direct bark, but retain that ghostly distance.

The start of 'Hessepikn' reminds me very much of Ramesses, with ominous spoken passages over a lysergic doomscape. For maximum menace it could do with a bit more kick from those rotten guitars, but the cavernous, floaty ambience is in keeping with the dominant motif. This spell is broken in spectacular fashion, with a climactic explosion of speedy noise. 'Du Levande' also flits between blastbeats and death-march sludge, the trademark whistling tempest blowing through the mix. The extended tracks which bookend 'Morinde' tether the 'lousy' ethos of Darkthrone to the fearless disharmonic adventure of Blut Aus Nord.

Alkerdeel's approach to extreme music is focused on creating atmosphere rather than providing a quick sledgehammer fix or dazzling technique. Often they'll have long passages which cycle between three or four notes. This does not impede 'Morinde'; it gives it a sense of wilderness and elemental force. It may be flawed, it may sometimes be inscrutable, but it's a goldmine of heavy moods and intrigue. Any of you seen these fellows live? I'd love to know what that's like.
Writer: Darren Bibby

Original published on http://beardrock.com/reviews/alkerdeel