Artist: Beenkerver
Country: The Netherlands
Label: Vendetta Records
Formats: Cassette EP
Year: 2023
Last year we could already enjoy the by no means insignificant ‘Ontaard’, the debut album of this new musical project by Niels “Beenkerver” Riethorst, who we previously could find back in bands and projects like Plaagdrager, :Nodfyr:, Heidevolk and, my personal favourite, Stormbreker. While ‘Ontaard’ can certainly be considered a successful debut album, I can already reveal that this new EP, clocking in at just under 17 minutes, is a hefty step up.
Where ‘Ontaard’ has a sinister and perhaps somewhat autobiographical character, Niels draws from a different mould here. ‘Twee Wolven’ (meaning ‘Two Wolves’), is the musical backdrop to a Native American parable, meant to persuade the younger generation to a certain (positive) moral attitude. It’s about two wolves in battle, one representing all that is bad in man and the other representing the exact opposite, the good. The question, of course, is which of the two wolves will win the fight. The moral of this story is that the ancient Cherokee tribe believes that that wolf will prevail which you choose to feed.
Niels, however, on ‘Twee Wolven’, chooses to keep both animals alive, where the impossible is about to occur: a life where depression and hope, pain and happiness, lies and truth combine. And it is exactly this contradiction, as far apart as water and fire, that Niels drags us into the depths of.
‘Twee Wolven’ is not only not directly comparable to ‘Ontaard’ in concept (although the main themes seem to be largely the same again), musically there is also a clear change. The main ingredients are still present, but it is obvious that Niels has gotten his musical direction clearer. The generally fast-paced Black Metal is backed with similarly fast played melodies that make the whole thing surprisingly catchy. In my review for ‘Ontaard’ I already cited that the album sounded both modern and familiar, that still holds true here, although the balance tips more towards the sound of contemporary Black Metal. Whether Niels was directly inspired by these acts is not clear, but given the subject matter and musical similarities, I wouldn’t be surprised if he took his inspiration (partly) from the upswing from the Native American Black Metal scene. The parallels with bands like Blackbraid are very obvious due to the grandest epics and bursts of deep dynamics, but while listening, due to the very quickly played melodies, Canadian Forteresse also regularly comes to mind. It is the beautifully crafted riffs and melodies swirling around each other that manage to create that breathtakingly exciting atmosphere. Still, that dark edge of the debut album has not disappeared and a tinge of old Katatonia hangs over the songs here and there, adding further depth and meaning to the whole.
It is stunning to find how much progression there is between ‘Ontaard’ and ‘Twee Wolven’. It may be because this EP is only short and follows a clear conceptual theme, but after many listens of ‘Two Wolves’, ‘Ontaard’ even sounds a bit disjointed – with all due respect, by the way. Given its quality, it is therefore not surprising that this EP, for now only released on cassette tape, sold out in no time. Niels has set his bar very high with ‘Twee Wolven’ and expectations are now even higher for the full-length sequel.
