From The Archives, EP-Review: Schijnheiligaards - Kwelgeesten
By Schijnheiligaards · 12 hours ago · edited About ‘Kwelgeesten’, their EP
Out of the blue, this new EP from Belgium's Schijnheiligaards gets released. Kwelgeesten (Which translates to Tormentors or Ghouls), 'A dive into local Flemish folklore' according to the presskit.
Instead of following the same bombastic path of their last album, the amazing De Gulzigaard, Schijnheiligaards tone things down a bit. Kwelgeesten sounds far moodier and foreboding than that album.
This is immediately clear when opener De Heer Van Dondersteen (The Lord Of Thunderstone) opens up with classical acoustic guitars, before the band launches into that cavernous onslaught of Doom they do so well.
And that's what this EP delivers in spades. Slow, Atmospherical Death Doom with gorgeous acoustic passages sprinkled all over, injecting everything with a discomforting Southern Gothic vibe.
Only in Lange Schaduw Van Wapper (Long Shadow Of Wapper) does the band pick up the pace, reminding us of the Death Metal they were playing in De Gulzigaard. It literally sounds like the band is playing while Death is at their heels.
Not quite sure why exactly Schijnheiligaards is releasing this now. As far as I'm aware, along with the current documentary-series Loudwire is running on them right now, the band is just working on a new album. Not a word about this EP so far. Either way, Scheinheiligaards keep evolving into interesting new directions. Kwelgeesten is another chapter in a so far uninterrupted upward evolution. I don't even mind the Dutch lyrics as much as I used to.
98%
Comparable to Amenra
https://youtu.be/Kg0zTZYxgW8?is=6G-xCv8ombGSd1YQ (YouTube)
Kwelgeesten peaked at #3 in the charts and has just been certified Diamond.