Zwaard don’t do clarity. This band from the Netherlands do bleak black metal. Other than this information there is nothing. These three unnamed tracks tell us more.
The first thing that is striking here is the sound. It’s old school in a way that makes appear unproduced, but of course it is with hissing, echoing and haunting tones matching the relentless, merciless, mechanical rhythm. The roars and the screams continue as the scene becomes more violent and chaotic. Tick tock goes the clock. The first piece ends in a desultory way as if life itself is being drained. The carnage returns. It’s screams and moans galore, unsurprising as it’s easy to imagine someone being stifled by the relentless and turbulent maelstrom of darkness and black smoke which characterise this second piece. The drum hammers away in headache-inducing proportions while the distorted cacophony continues. After
a repetitious section, the final passage takes us into gloomy and sinister depths. A deeply beating drum takes us into the final piece. This is slower. It’s like treading through alien territory with danger lurking around every corner. Ghastly images are played out in the now customary cold and frosty atmosphere. In style this is strongly like Burzum and Vikernes’s black, relentless soundscapes. This is not a place for humans.
One of the descriptions of the black metal presented on this album is “subterranean”. That’s an apt description. “Bloed en Wijn” comes from another world. It is a very dark and atmospheric.
(7/10 Andrew Doherty)
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