Artist: Oerheks
Country: Belgium
Label: Amor Fati Productions / Babylon Doom Cult Records
Formats: 12″ Demo / Demo tape
Year: 2023
In the region of Cagghenvinna (currently known as Kaggevinne) in Belgium, a forest called the Prinsenbos once stood proud. Victim to the greed and need of man, the forest was decimated and in current times the Prinsenbos remains only as a memory and the name of a street. On this street, a lone survivor of Cagghenvinna remains, an oak that is estimated to be 250 years old with a trunk of over 4 meters in diameter, standing 23 meters tall and wearing a majestic crown of 29 meters wide. Through decades of oppression of the ever-expanding farmlands and the forces of nature the oak has had its share of agony, but in the current day it still stands as a reminder of a once glorious landscape. The oak represents the ‘Landschapsanachronismen’, a term to describe a landscape that doesn’t fit in its time or a disruption in the chronological coherence of a landscape, that mastermind H. of Oerheks has used as inspiration for his latest demo.
The previous demo ‘Cagghenvinna’ was an impressive atmospheric Black Metal record with deep Pagan roots, which my colleague FelixS lauded as raw reverb-drenched and at the same time melodic triumph for Flemish Black Metal. Much of the sound and musical framework of ‘Cagghenvinna’ has remained intact, with long-spun songs bringing forth entrancing melodies that guide the listeners through the forest of old. Much like a varying landscape, the pace shifts frequently from slower and midpaced sections to more furious outbursts while even incorporating soothing acoustic breaks. Likewise, the vocals shift, from the most pained echoes to spoken poetic recitations that make a lyrical line like “Mijn Landschap Bloedt”, translating to “My landscape is Bleeding”, hit home in terms in sense of genuine grief over loss of the once majestic forest.
And with that comes the most noticeable difference in the approach on the latest demo, which is condensed into two tracks of approximately 12 minutes each. The atmosphere is somewhat more epic in nature, but more noticeably there is a much greater sense of melancholy than before. While ‘Cagghenvinna’ felt like a homage to the glorious beauty of the Hageland forests and the streams and waters of the Demervallei (Demer valley), on ‘Landschapsanachronismen’ one cannot deny the sense of sorrow and longing reflecting upon that solitary oak and the history of the forest. This is further enhanced by beautiful Flemish lyrics that present that sense of solitude, woe and yearning for the ‘ancient witch’ (the translation of Oerheks) to turn the tide in the favour of nature.
‘Landschapsanachronismen’ is a beautiful demo, filled with memorable riffs, entrancing melodies, dynamic pace and an overwhelming sense of melancholy. As far as I’m concerned it’s even a step up from the already impressive debut demo. Once again, Oerheks has left me enchanted.
