Tracklist:-
1. Intrede
2. Argwaan
3. Gebukt
4. Oud De Vet
5. Leeg
6. Uittrede
This week looks like it's going to be a bit of a voyage into the European underground and you can't get more underground that Belgian one-man black metal band Ande. Ande started as a project in 2015 to pay homage to black metal of the past, as well as the present. The album "Licht" was self-released in December of that year and was followed in January 2017 by "Het Gebeente", again self-released. It has been released digitally and on limited cd.
It’s only right that the sky should turn black as I sit down to write this review. Starting with the melancholy piano of Intrede, you do wonder what’s around the corner on “Het Gebeente”. Argwaan is typical of solo black metal, but it’s rawness is part of it’s charm. The shrieked vocals sit within the mix, surrounded by furious percussion and a wall of guitars that sometimes spill out into doomier territory. The doom is more prevalent during the slower Gebukt, with it’s semi-droning riffs. It’s certainly a miserable listen (in a good way). Oud En Vet has a rhythm taking straight from the heart of punk, which provides a nice change of pace. The guitar melodies wrap themselves around when they’re aloud to breath in the song’s opening couple of minutes, before Ande reverts back to it’s mournful state. The darkness that shrouds Leeg is as bleak as you’d expect, leaving no room for lights to break through. The song is split into more obvious movements this time, with lowly and introspective guitar providing a mid-section that allows you time for inner reflection. The riffs that follow are more akin to blackened hardcore and suit the black metal that they keep company. Uittrede is an eerie, ambient instrumental end to the album and it pretty much sums the whole thing up. I’ve featured quite a few solo black metal bands on here over of the years and I have to say that Ande is probably amongst the strongest that I’ve reviewed.
You can stream "Het Gebeente" and purchase digital/cd copies below:-
Ande Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Ande
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