Bölzer – Lese Majesty (Review)

Bölzer are a Swiss black metal band and this is their latest EP.

Bölzer’s music is impressively creative and idiosyncratic, and their take on blackened metal is both enjoyable and infectious. An EP this may be, but there’s still 29 minutes of material here.

The music on this release sounds strangely organic and tactile, while benefiting from a slightly unsettling ritualistic energy. It’s as if the band are channelling something that they are struggling to contain, and at any moment things could explode into chaos and mayhem at the slightest lapse in concentration. Written down like that it sounds strange, but it captures the feel that the music has in places, at least for me it does.

The material ranges from the brutal to the emotively sublime, with the talented hands of Bölzer making good work of both aspects, (as well as others between these). The band’s black metal core is augmented by death and progressive metal influences, both of which work to help turn the music into something quite individual and personable. This is especially true when considering the singing. The full of a range of charismatic vocals – both harsh and clean – is impressive, and the singer’s voice is well-performed throughout. Sometimes traditional, sometimes not, his voice is always his own and no one else’s.

This description is also appropriate for the music as a whole, really, and the balance between traditional delivery and more experimental performances is well-balanced. Quirky ideas are tried out whenever the band feel the need. Other creative flourishes flesh out the music, while more classic structures and influences provide the songs with backbone. The end result is a well-rounded whole that’s very enjoyable.

Lese Majesty is half an hour of extreme metal that succeeds way more than it doesn’t, and I heartily recommend you check out what treasures it has to offer.