Fluisteraars – Gegrepen door de Geest der Zielsontluiking (Review)

This is the fourth album from black metal band Fluisteraars, who are from the Netherlands.

Hot on the heels of 2020’s Bloem, Fluisteraars have now returned with 36 minutes of new material. On their latest release Fluisteraars once again return to their longer offerings, (there are only three songs here, and the longest lasts 20 minutes), and they do so with skill and potency.

The album is raw and unpolished, with one-take recordings and elements of improvisation. This gives the band’s textured music a vibrancy which is less-found in a lot of modern music. The songs feel organic, as if they could naturally develop in any way given the chance, and the flow of the music reflects this. Even when it is at its harshest, the music still feels like a living embodiment of something alive and fertile with potential.

The music on Gegrepen door de Geest der Zielsontluiking is atmospheric and rich in melodic appeal. The songs carry a deep emotional resonance that reaches down into the bones of the music. The band’s psychedelic explorations feel deeper than ever, (presumably due to the nature of how the material was created), while the intensity of the music’s aggressive aspect feels razor-sharp and honed to a fine cutting edge.

Fluisteraars strike a delicate balance between beauty and aggression, and on this album that balance feels more tentative than ever, as if at any moment things could go off the rails one way or the other quite significantly. It’s testament to the band’s abilities that they manage to avoid this happening, and the balance between the two is delicately maintained throughout.

Gegrepen door de Geest der Zielsontluiking is another strong release from a very striking and individual band that never fail to deliver.

Very highly recommended.