Review Summary: Don't follow the light
If Google Translate can be trusted, the title of Witte Wieven’s debut LP can be translated to “will-o’-the-wisp”. It’s a good name for a metal album - those folkloric ghost lamps - and even more ideal given this band’s particular bent. What I mean is that Witte Wieven have always been a comparatively mellow group by the ferocious standards of black metal - no screams or shrieks to be found on their near-instrumental EP, and they are deeply indebted throughout their limited discography to post-rock and ambient nearly as much as to the vicious riffs and unrelenting atmosphere of black metal’s origins. As an analogy for the band’s sound, you could do a lot worse than a will-o’-the-wisp, outwardly inviting while luring the listener into darkness with sinister intent.
More on Witte Wieven, then. Their road has been a long one, despite a notable lack of previous output. The duo have been a presence in the Dutch metal scene for nearly a decade, previously releasing the aforementioned three-song EP in 2016 and a two-song split with similarly obscure Netherlands metal act Reiziger in 2018. Now, here’s a long-due full-length debut, consisting of five new studio tracks followed up by a live rendition of “Met Beide Benen In Het Niets”, the Witte Wieven track previously featured on that split release.
The last decision mentioned is a slightly baffling one - there’s really nothing as vibrant in the group’s new material as the sheer viscerality of this live performance, making it an awkward fit for a closer. Ultimately, though,
Dwaallicht is a different beast. While notably heavier than the group’s EP tunes, these songs (at least the studio ones) are much more about the journey than the destination, likely a derivation of the tenets of the post-y genres which so many of these tracks borrow liberally from.
I’m not entirely blown away while listening to
Dwaallicht. By this, I mean that the songwriting and arrangements tend to be solid, but not extraordinary. That said, when judged by the standards of a debut (even one from a group who’ve been around the block), this is strong stuff. Witte Wieven manage to exude a sense of balance - there are sufficient moments of shimmery post-rock and sufficient moments of blackened wrath to avoid that uncomfortable feeling which occurs when it feels like an artist just threw in an unrelated musical idea as a differentiating gimmick. The results are a fairly impressive example of what can be done while operating in the atmoblack/post-metal borderlands - surely not the most unique territory, but a tasty musical formula nonetheless.
For those unsure, “Koorddanser” is worth a listen, representing the album’s formulation at its most straightforward, with a gentle and rhythmic beginning anchored by clean vox eventually giving way to a climax of tumultuous guitar and black metal shrieking. Songs like “Kringen” play their part as well, not the most immediate on their own, but provoking a dismal feeling which calls to mind the sinking feeling (see what I did there?) of being lost in a haunted marsh, which I choose to believe is exactly what Witte Wieven intended. All told,
Dwaallicht isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s a solid full-length which should satisfy fans of the various styles it partakes in. I won’t hold my breath for a follow-up, given this band’s propensity to take their time, but I’m looking forward to it nonetheless.
