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Review Summary: Ethereal artistry. Fluisteraars had built some momentum with a streak of two excellent releases before their third full length album “Bloem”, namely the amazing two-track EP “Gelderland” and their split with Turia, which has by far the most potent and emotionally heavy track they have written so far in their discography. The band is welcoming the new decade with a record that features a cover that could piss off purists as much as the two Sacred Son albums, yet their music palette seems to be fuller than ever, making it a bit inconsiderate to dismiss it just because you could possibly be allergic to flowers.
By now, the duo has evolved a lot from their first days of being an atmospheric black metal band with clear influences. “Bloem” features five tracks that glorify the personal sound of Fluisteraars, which is driven mainly by vibrant guitar melodies, wonderful shrieked vocals and it’s a blessing that they have stuck to that, instead of choosing to add mediocre clean vocal choruses like other bands of the same genre do as they release more and more albums. The structure of the record is phenomenal and creates a beautiful atmosphere, which includes small, hidden twists and turns that unfold the more you listen to it. Offering a pleasing, totally organic sound, the way they fuse dreamy guitar lines with riffs that get more intense at times, is unique and demonstrates the band’s compositional talent.
If you want to understand how repetitiveness is used properly in an album that leans more towards atmospheric black metal, a sub-genre that is full of endless tracks of empty ambiance, “Bloem” is the way to go. The band’s understanding of the factor of balance in an album is shown in tracks like “Eeuwige Ram” are based on a handful of melodies but are far from boring. At the same time, parts of “Nasleep” and “Vlek” have Fluisteraars bang a bit heavier and are full of highlight moments. It’s hard not to be moved by the charged ending of “Vlek”, starting at the second half of the track, or the menacing guitar riffs in “Tere Muur” or “Nasleep”, both of which include little characteristics that could also surprise a fan. Not to mention how good each instrument sounds, the bass is fantastic and of course, the presence of tampourine and timpani just add the cherry on top to an already fantastic record.
The album closes with a repetitive, Agallochian part in the song “Maanruïne” (the tampourine part in it will be your favorite part as much as mine), which is only a slight connection to that band, since Fluisteraars have opened wings towards their own soundscapes. “Bloem” goes heavily down on emotion and is full of interesting ideas, it keeps the attention of the listener for its whole duration and has absolutely no filler moments. I don’t think their previous full lengths were that memorable, but the band has been on the right track for some years now and finally they molded their inspiration into a full album.
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"atmospheric black metal, a sub-genre that is full of endless tracks of empty ambiance"
???
solid review otherwise. is this your first account?
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Dutch black metal, and it's fucking awesome.
Way...
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Yes it is my first account, I just found this website.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Omg thanks for reviewing this man! It's a great album for sure, and so weird to hear my native tongue in something other than Marco Borsato (Azog will understand).
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Also pos!
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nice dude, cheers for the midnight review as well
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
one of the better bm albums of the year so far I think. And much better than their previous album.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
thanks for reviewing
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Excellent album, correct. This is a highlight
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Not sure if it's better than the band's previous material; all of it falls in the 3.5 category for me right now. Will listen again later.
Pos'd the review.
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"It's a great album for sure, and so weird to hear my native tongue in something other than Marco Borsato (Azog will understand)."
Azog does. Like when compared to English, I always thought of our language as a rather blunt instrument, unfit to express subtleties like the distinction between happiness and crappiness. Which perfectly explains Marco Borsato, yet somehow we also have bands like Fluisteraars, achieving mastery while using the exact same tool. It may take some time to get used to that, LOL.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
I was always convinced my home country almost never, if ever, produces any decent metal. However, this record does seem to be receiving quite a bit of appreciation.
@Azog, I like to think Dutch can be more than a blunt instrument, given it occasionally lends itself to some rather wonderful eloquence. That being said, English, with its significantly larger vocabulary does offer a comparatively greater arsenal for expression.
P.S. "Whisperers" is a rather apt moniker for an atmospheric black-metal outift.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
dutch bm is pretty good right now i think
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
@Zaruyache I thought as much. I've seen a lot of praise for Dutch bm on AMG and other metal-related outlets as well.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
this rules
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Yeah this good, kind of weird knowing what they are saying, compared to not having a clue in most black metal records. The vocals are really good though, it kinda sounds like Norse when you hear Dutch in a black metal context haha
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Yeah I thought so too Beardog! About the Norse-thing.
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Like, you can easily tell it's Dutch, but somehow it just isn't lame in any way! How?!
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Puzzles me too man! It shouldn't work yet it does.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
When I was in the Netherlands for some days, I have to admit your language sounded a bit strange. Agreed that it sounds great through this band!
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