Vuur & Zijde - Boezem

Angry Metal Guy 60

Few things make as big a difference to genre as vocals. If it doesn’t have raspy screeching, can it still be called black metal? If it doesn’t sound like a certain blue monster swapped his addiction from cookies to craniums, can it still be called death metal? Vuur & Zijde is a new project that tests these questions with an odd blend of post-black and post-punk, eschewing harsh vocals entirely and glorifying love rather than hate. It’s no wonder that the line-up contains, among others, two-thirds of Laster, a band that also does not seem overly concerned with ‘genre conventions’ or ‘making sense.’ With other members cribbed from Terzij de Horde and Witte Wieven, Vuur & Zijde is a cross-section of the Dutch black metal scene, with only vocalist Famke Canrinus new to the scene. But is black metal about love really black metal to love?

The blend peddled on Boezem makes more sense when heard rather than read. The post-punk is a fair bit more prominent than the post-black. The influence of the latter is largely confined to the atmospheric streams of tremolos drifting off the guitars. The drums often remain fairly stoic, holding a steady yet sparse mid-pace with a focus on the snare and low-impact kicks, which keeps the overall energy reserved for the occasional few stretches of blasts. A surprise highlight is the bass, its dynamic compositions granting the music a bit more flexibility and soul. Overall, the darkly gothic and stifling atmosphere draws favorable comparisons with Killing Joke with forays into Alcest territory.

Boezem by Vuur & Zijde

Miss Canrinus is the heart of the band, with a vocal performance hewing closer to occult rock like Coven with a warm, bewitching quality. Her timbre is clear and inviting, occasionally reminding me of Anneke van Giersbergen (Vuur et al), but despite her technical proficiency, her approach isn’t terribly dynamic, using the same delivery and intensity across most of Boezem. “Nest” is an outlier, showcasing several characterizations with phrases at turns sardonic and consoling, but a sense of repetitiveness diminishes their impact. Thankfully, the instrumental variety is stronger across the album. The aggressive bursts of “Onbemind,” the gothic doom “Us,” the energetic haunting of “Omheind” and the echoing atmosphere of “Naakt” all display different sides of Vuur & Zijde and demonstrate its aptitude for diverse yet cohesive songwriting.

Despite the unusual sound, Boezem sounds remarkably cohesive and lived in, as if the band has been honing its compositions for years. The only big compositional bump is in the center, the lethargic and repetitive “Kuier” which combines spoken word with a plodding, incessant melody. It completely halts the album’s momentum, and actually takes away from follow-up “II,” a powerful, synth-heavy and atmospheric track with a slow start that would have benefited from more contrast to its predecessor. It’s a sizeable mark on Boezem’s otherwise impeccable flow, but thanks to the strength of the rest of the material and the excellent production, it doesn’t sink the ship.

Though I’m the furthest thing from nationalistic, I do feel a little pride at the state of Dutch underground metal. Vuur & Zijde is yet another example of the innovative, envelope-pushing music emerging from our scene. Combining disparate well-trod genres into a new and engaging sound is no small feat, but here it feels effortless, as if the band has never done anything else. Considering the pedigree of the musicians, it should come as no surprise, but so often experiments like this fail miserably anyway. Boezem has its issues, the centralized momentum-robber chief among them. But it’s a bold demonstration of Vuur & Zijde’s qualities in both composition and execution and a very promising start to a hopefully fruitful project.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Prophecy Productions
Websites: vuurenzijde.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/vuurenzijde
Releases Worldwide: July 12th, 2024

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