Info
- Band(s): Witte Wieven
- Label(s): Babylon Doom Cult Records
- Release Format(s): 12" vinyl
- Release Year: 2023
- Review Date: April 18, 2023
- Author(s): Colin McNamara
Witte Wieven is yet another ambitious project from Carmen Raats (also known as C. in some of her other projects like Freja) that showcases another side of Netherlands based Atmospheric Black Metal. While in a lot of her other projects she has seemed a bit buried in the mix with the participation of other members, here on Witte Wieven (which translates to White Woman in Dutch) she finally gets a chance to fully shine her talent by performing most of the instruments and vocals save the drums, who are performed by Sarban of Stoner Metal group Gigatron2000. For those that know of Carmen’s other projects, she likes to keep the music a bit ethereal and folk tinged, but not quite your typical wintery Ambient/Atmospheric Black Metal like Vinterriket or the acoustic tinged balance of soft and harsh Agalloch. In Freja the music is very against the grain for expectations of the genre, and here, like Old Man’s Child for Galder from Dimmu Borgir in Symphonic/Melodic Black Metal, Carmen gets the chance to explore the Atmospheric/ Post Black Metal genre in her own way fully. The sound of ‘Dwaallicht’ is a little harsher than some of her other works, but also still lush and interesting with what is included.
The hypnotic quality of the music is certainly present right out the gates with ‘Ontsponnen uit de diepte’ with its rather repetitive, harsh riffs backed by acoustic plinks, and when the ethereal clean vocals come in one will be reminded of the likes of Lindsey Schoolcraft a bit. The rhythm of the music is what really drives Witte Wieven though, despite the repetition, as it goes between harsh and soft for the guitar tones. Drums have that thick percussive tone. Carmen’s harsh vocals also shine through in a blend that sounds like Malefic from Xasthur and Myrkur (though certainly less distorted, Folk tinged, and screechy). On her other projects it was hard to tell with the other vocalists who was doing the harsh, but now here it is clear she has quite the range. However, even her vocal work does half the work as the main focus of Witte Wieven seems to be the guitar passages which are both sharp and yet mystical depending on the section of the song, but always melodic and catchy, nearly in the vein of Ajattara. Other tracks like ‘Koorddanser’ are much more atmospheric, less on the harsh riffs and more of that ethereal tone, even with the vocals which opt more for spoken word than singing. But the addition of the wood instrument clink versus the percussive thunder of the drums also stand out, until the sound just crashes with the harsh elements again after the luring first 3 minutes. Again, this is the draw of Witte Wieven; the band knows how to suck people in.
Like a lot of Atmospheric Black Metal projects, the only downfall with 2 members and limited instrument scope is that the tracks have a tendency to sound very similar after a while. Once ‘Kringen’ hits the riff patterns and alternations between acoustic and electric moments, along with the plod of drums, and despite a varying pace, might make listeners think they’re still hooked on ‘Koorddanser.’ However, it all sounds good despite lack of variation as everything thumps along, and whether Carmen is screaming or singing alongside her guitar and bass work, one cannot deny this woman has talent as she pulls off everything as smoothly as possible. And to solidify that proof is the closing live track, ‘Met beide benen in het niets.’ A little bit noisier compared to the rest of the album due to live feel, the track does carry on quite a bit, and again, in a lot of repetitive notes. But, despite slightly buried vocals, the drums and guitars come across clearly, and the vocals even sound more mystical and haunting with the slightly fuzzed out sound. It gets the point where sometimes one can’t tell if they are hearing Carmen’s voice or the acoustic guitar with how ethereal it gets. But, overall the track does give those Post Metal shivers versus the more Atmospheric Black Metal. In short, ‘Dwaallicht’ is an excellent listen for those who like open ended Black Metal with plenty of guitar work, still a raw but not quite ‘kvlt’ sound, and something a little different from the norm, but not quite as harrowing as Leviathan or all over the place as a group such as Dødheimsgard.
Witte Wieven
- Country: Netherlands
- Style: Black Metal
- Links: Homepage, Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp, Spotify, Youtube
Related Articles
Babylon Doom Cult Records
- Country: Belgium
- Style: Black Metal, Doom Metal
- Links: Homepage, Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp, Youtube
