Review Summary: A tasty bite-sized helping of Dutch black metal
In the popular imagination, the Netherlands still seems most associated with a bunch of very
chill things: windmills, flowers, marijuana in coffee shops, etc. For the past few years, though, the country’s black metal scene has been on the upswing, however unexpected that might be based on preconceived notions. Ossaert isn’t the most famous group in this burgeoning movement, and certainly aren’t a household name even among that minority who could name a favorite Darkthrone album. Nonetheless, these Dutchmen’s first two records have been accomplished works ranking among their nation’s finest black metal exports. In particular, their sophomore attempt, 2021’s
Pelgrimsoord, stands out from the pack. Much like many of their fellow Dutch artists in the genre, Ossaert tend to take a middle-ground approach to black metal - their music is somewhat raw but not without melody, and incorporates folky textures without abandoning heaviness either.
Offerdier marks Ossaert’s first attempt at the EP format. There’s a lot of continuity to the group’s previous two (full-length) efforts, though. For one thing, the release artwork remains black-and-white and heraldic in design. For another, the tracklist is still four songs. While Ossaert’s records each consisted of a quartet of lengthy tracks averaging around ten minutes in duration, the runtime of
Offerdier is significantly trimmed. This is accomplished by a combination of bookends which approximate Ossaert’s typical style while being slightly more concise than normal, and two trim tracks in-between which act as interludes.
The aforementioned interludes, conveniently entitled “Ritueel I” and “Ritueel II”, aren’t remarkable by any means but serve their part, allowing a bit of experimentation which hasn’t been prevalent in the Ossaert discography up to this point (after all, including this EP they only have twelve songs to their name). They are both gentle but slightly spooky, and wouldn’t feel out of place on a full-scale dungeon synth project. The real heart of
Offerdier, though, is at its beginning and end, with opener “De Lichtkrans En De Waan” and closer “Het Geschenk En Het Bestaan”. The former’s soaring melodic component and the latter’s imposing riffage don’t exactly set themselves apart from Ossaert’s prior output, but they demonstrate that the band is at peak performance, resulting in a pair of instantly compelling tunes which should appeal to a wide spectrum of metal fans. In the end, that’s all that one can ask for from a fairly short EP - a refined dose of what an artist does best, combined with a touch of exploration. With this as a little appetizer, I’m already looking forward to Ossaert’s third full-length. Just another step on Dutch black metal’s rise to the top.
