Review Summary: Now That's What I Call Wiegedood: Volume 3
Wiegedood are an interesting black metal band. Or, no. In a manner of speaking they’re
not interesting; Wiegiedood have been notably straightforward in their take on the typical “icy and blasty” second wave-esque style of black metal since releasing their first album in 2015. Lyrically their native origins may provide some sense of originality--hailing from the dark hinterlands of Belgium, one could easily presume songs to discuss such brooding concepts as waffles, beautiful museums, or life in f
ucking Bruges--but that’s simply a guess, given their lyrics are unavailable at the time of this writing. Probably the waffles, though.
But what one might argue
actually makes Wiegendedooden an interesting project (outside of their being composed of 2.5 members of Oathbreaker), however, is not strictly their artistic uniqueness so much as their ability to remain instrumentally
bog-flipping-standard while still standing out amidst the unending sea of bubbling Bandcamp Burzumcore. If anything, the band’s uncanny ability to seem interesting while definitely not being interesting somehow makes them a more interesting, or at least compelling, group.
On previous records Wiegedood formulated their songwriting by, in essence, taking nibbles and bites from notable projects like Burzum, Dissection, and Emperor (a melody here, an identifiable riffing technique there), and stretching those singular ideas into full pieces that felt both new, yet proud of their obvious parentage. For “Wiegedood 3: The Dedodening” the band have surprisingly almost totally abandoned this previous tradition, opting for a more straightforward and general sound rather than seeking specific, identifiable influences to emulate.
Interestingly enough, this change of format has apparently freed Wegiedood’s members to write their most powerful material yet. While definitely not reinventing any wheels, “De Doden Hebben Get Going III” features exceptionally solid black metal that mostly keeps its tempo up and its temperature down. Running just under 34 minutes over 4 tracks, the album features neither wasted time nor energy, its songwriting clearly emphasizing a maintained sense of instrumental intensity throughout--it seems to really try to cram as much power into each track as possible. Whether it’s the near-constant galloping chugs of opener “Prowl”, the epic and icy melodic work of “Doodskalm”, or the driving Drudkh-y rhythms of its title track, “De Doden III” never finds itself wanting for memorable content.
It seems that, this time, the band’s style of straightforward writing has not only worked out for them but also allowed them to achieve their greatest work yet under the Wiegedood banner. “De Doden III” might not provide many new or even interesting ideas for the genre, and it doesn’t spend time bringing in fancy influences or making artistically or poetically meaningful statements. It’s just frigid black metal with icy riffs, doing frigid icy black metal things.
And this time it just hits the nail on the frosty head. While eating waffles. Down a canal.
In Bruges. And for Wiegedood, that’s actually good enough this time.
