Tag Archives: Netherlands

Selim Lemouchi and His Enemies – Earth Air Spirit Water Fire (2013)

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Selim Lemouchi and His Enemies – Earth Air Spirit Water Fire (Ván Records, 06 December 2013)

 

Good afternoon. It’s been about eleven days since you last heard from me — sorry, but I’ve had shit going on. Like one of those times where everything decides to break all at once, and everything needs urgent attention. Whatever. I hope you’ll be able to forgive me when you hear the ABSOLUTE FUCKING MASTERPIECE that I’m sharing with you today. This album — a solo work by the former guitarist of Dutch occult band The Devil’s Blood — was released to not-a-whole-lot-of-acclaim at the tail end of 2013, and then was tragically overshadowed by its creator’s death just about three months later. A huge surge in attention for his former band ensued, but it felt (to me, anyway) like this record accidentally got swept under the rug. Which is really a shame, because it’s sheer genius.

One quick word of caution, before we get started, though — speaking of genius. This article is going to contain references to Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys. If hearing those names conjures images of sappy poppy teeny bopper surf music — and nothing further — please take a moment to educate yourself about what is universally considered to be that composer’s (and his band’s) landmark achievement in the history of recorded music. You can thank me later. When you’re ready, please join us directly beneath the following photograph…

 

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Now Available: Laster – Wijsgeer & Narreman (FREE Download!)

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Laster – Wijsgeer & Narreman (cassette release 01 June 2012, CD release 01 August 2012; both via Dunkelheit Produktionen)

 
Good afternoon, readers! Are you having a good day so far? I hope so. I know it’s still Monday, but at least it’s almost over, right?

Anyway, I’ve got an excellent serving of black metal I’d like to share with you all. Laster (“libel” or “defamation” in English) is a two-piece band from the Netherlands. Each of the members is also involved in other musical projects, but they both use initials as pseudonyms (and both are credited with “vocals and all instruments”) so it isn’t much use trying to discuss that.

In fact, outside of their city (Utrecht) and country of origin, pretty much everything else about this band is mysterious. They don’t even have a Facebook or Myspace page (as far as I have been able to discover). In a way it’s a shame, because I do like to find as much information as possible so I can be more knowledgeable about what I’m writing about.

At the same time, isn’t part of the allure of black metal its arcane nature, that sense of mysteriousness? Perhaps sometimes the ease with which the internet has put nearly limitless information at our fingertips can actually detract a bit from the magic? Turn the extraordinary and unique into something familiar and commonplace?

In any case, that’s the extent of the details I am able to share. Even the EP title and each of the three song titles have aluded my translation (via Google) abilities. I’ve been able to pick out a few words, but not enough to decipher anything meaningful. For example, the record is called Wijsgeer & Narreman; apparently the first word means “philosopher” or “sage” but the second part has no results however hard I try searching. Perhaps one of my helpful Dutch friends will want to offer some assistance?

 
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Just Released: Mondvolland – Pestvogel

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Mondvolland – Pestvogel EP (Self-released, 28 January 2012)

I’ve learned that internet radio can really be a blessing during a long, boring day at work. There are stations out there that specialize in literally any genre or style you can imagine. I can usually find one that suits whatever mood I’m in on any given day, and as an added bonus, I often end up discovering new bands I never heard before. Whenever I hear a song I really like, I usually stop what I’m doing to search for that band on Facebook so I can “like” them and then keep informed about what they’re up to.

This is how I came across a band called Mondvolland; once upon a time I was in a folk-metal mood (when this happens, Warrior Radio is usually my drug of choice), and I heard some excellent quality blackened folk, which turned out to be by this Dutch group.

Fast-forward to December, and I started seeing updates from the band about some new material they were recording. I asked them at that time to please let me know when they had anything finished, because I was anxious to hear it. Well as it turns out, I didn’t have to wait long, because this week I got an email from bassist/vocalist/co-founder Mickeal who told me they had just put out a press release: to give fans a taste of the new direction the band are taking, they decided to release a 3-song EP to download for free!

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