By: Ernesto
Aguilar
Album Type: Full length
Date
Released:
02/03/2018
Label: Van Records
“Hemelbestormer's
musicianship is excellent, and signals a new maturity in the band's evolution.”
"A Ring Of Blue Light" track listing
1.
Eight Billion Stars
2.
Clusters
3.
Towards the Nebula
4.
Redshift
5.
Blue Light
6.
The Serpent Bearer
The Review:
Crafting
heavy music that is at once original, attention getting and accessible is no
simple task. There are absolutely many bands who skillfully offer fantastic
albums with a lot to offer in terms of creativity. For Belgian quartet Hemelbestormer,
however, the feat of doing something especially different comes through a
non-denominational approach to metal, winging elements of doom, progressive and
sludge into its second album.
"A Ring of Blue
Light"
is one of the more interesting releases of the young year simply for the fact
that, rather than embracing or promoting the shopworn notion of defying
categories, Hemelbestormer features
music that reflects a range of influences that come together within every
track, rather than standing as is typically done: 'here's the fast song,'
'here's the contemplative song," and so forth.
"Eight Billion Stars" begins
the recording with an atmospheric pacing that melds well with "Clusters." The lolling chords here
crest into a thicker river of sludge. Hemelbestormer took some criticism early in
its arc for taking too liberally from its inspirations. What comes across from
the start of "A Ring Of Blue Light"
is more of a desire to take that feedback to heart and forge something new.
The guitars of Jo Driesmans and Filip Dupont carry the day on "Towards the Nebula," as the band
hits its midpoint, while Frederik Cosemans' drumwork and synths represent well
elsewhere
The
14-minute-plus "Redshift"
seems intended to be the zenith for this album, and it is in fact a really
promising song that might have possibly benefitted from tighter editing, since,
about 11 minutes in, the switch in pacing feels forced in an otherwise sturdy
doom-influenced song. At other turns, there are moments when spot trims could
have improved the overall composition – brief cuts like "Blue Light" underscore this, with the reliance of short
songs that feel like there's more there, and long tracks that could use a
firmer approach. Regardless, Hemelbestormer's musicianship is excellent,
and signals a new maturity in the band's evolution.
With
the closing notes of "The Serpent
Bearer," a showcase for the band's heavy music potential and its
willingness to push some boundaries, you leave "A Ring Of Blue Light" with a great deal of hope for what this
invigorating four-piece can come up with next.
"A Ring Of Blue Light" is available here
Band
info: facebook
