HERFSTDOOD: Lijdensweg
Herfstdood
Lijdensweg
(Sneeuwstorm Produkties)
Herfstdood is a side-project of A. from Netherlands-based Duister Maanlicht. Both
bands are firmly planted in the black metal field, but where Duister Maanlicht play a raw,
primitive form of black metal with occasional nods to crust-punk and hardcore,
Herfstdood are at the other end of the spectrum concentrating on a
melodic/atmospheric take on the genre with strong ties to shoegaze or blackgaze. The
album is out as of Feb. 10 th on Sneeuwstorm Produkties (literally ‘blizzard productions),
a label with longstanding ties to the scene; although they had taken a hiatus from
around 20005, they are now more active than ever since about 2020.
On Lijdensweg, all titles and lyrics are in their native Dutch, but Herfstdood essentially
means “autumn death” and the album title is translated as “agony.” This is a little ironic,
because there is nothing agonizing about this release. Fans of the genre have a lot to
rejoice about here. The production is top-notch and the playing is incredible. My only
complaint here, and it’s a minor one, is that the melodic leads are a little too high in the
mix with the heavier black metal elements being pushed down a little and serving as a
thin crust at the bottom of the pie. A more even mix would yield interesting results.
Musically, this should appeal to fans of Vials of Wrath, Njiqaddha, Dunnock, and similar
bands, but while all of these juxtapose the brutal sounds of black metal with
mesmerizing layers of melody and atmospheric noise, I find that Herfstdood has a
unique approach. It’s almost as if you could isolate the clean-sounding guitars and
you’d still have some decent post-rock, or if you isolate the vocals, distorted guitars and
blastbeats, you’d still have some decent primitive black metal. Perhaps the fact that the
project is entirely led by one person creates this sort of isolated layering instead of a
more integrated approach.
While the lyrics are all in Dutch, with the help of Google Translate, one can get a feel for
some of the songs’ emphases in English. Take track 4, “Woudtocht” (so far, a favorite
for me), which means “forest walk.” Lots of themes of nature, as well as dealing with
some of the more grim emotions of humanity, including depression and the like, all the
while under the umbrella of submission to our Creator.
The album is available in digital or physical formats via the label’s page on Bandcamp.
4/5
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