De verste verte is hier

(Originally published at valleyofsteel.net)

Laster, mysterious and elusive two-piece band from Utrecht, NL, have been firmly on the radar screen of this website ever since they released their incredible EP Wijsgeer & Narreman back in the summer of 2012 (reviewed here). Since that time, they've continued to create their oversaturated soundscapes -- a sound they've started referring to as "obscure dance music" -- including the release of their debut full-length De Verste Verte is Hier ("The Farthest Distance is Here") nearly two and a half years ago. Ever since then, I've been meaning to write about that album and bring it to the attention of you, the readers, and today that's exactly what I'm doing.

The four songs on this album -- averaging almost twelve minutes each -- are every bit as jam-packed with atmosphere, blending static/noise with multiple layers of music, as the preceding EP was. All of these combined parts within this wall of sound generate so many overtones and artificial harmonics that the overall impression is of slow back-and-forth chords and notes, like baroque dance music -- unfocusing your ears and your mind, just letting the music wash over you, you may find sound often resembles a chamber string ensemble more than a black metal band. Alternating bright and bleak moods, the trance is occasionally broken with just atmospheric elements remaining -- for example around the middle of "Tot de Tocht Ons Verlicht" where everything else dies away for a short time, leaving something like a church organ and choir-singing (with a bit of agonized screaming somewhere in the background); also, midway through "Ik - Mijn Masker" a slowly descending synth/organ phrase takes over, and then gives way to an impressionistic solo piano sketch throughout the last remaining minutes.

But for the most part, poking through the pleasant façade we find the multitude of levels underneath are in fact black metal through and through; drums and guitars racing each other while accompanied by faraway harsh shrieking or sometimes ghastly shrieking/howling. The music, at its root, is made up of such furiously fast elements twisting and whipping past each other, that it seems like the pure aural embodiment of the meditative spinning practices of Sufi dervishes.

Only in the title track (the shortest here by far, at just six minutes) do things really shift gears: this song employs an ACTUAL dance-music drumbeat, new-wavey synths and krautrock-esque vocoders, for a general darkwave sound. Even still, here the band somehow manages to generate the exact same overall blend of bleak/forlorn/longing/hopeful feeling as is found in the other material on the album.

Laster’s 2012 demo Wijsgeer & Narreman left a strong impression on me, as the melodic leads on songs like “In levenskolken, in dadenstorm” got under my skin and delivered the perfect balance of rawness and depressive atmosphere. Although each of the three songs had plenty to offer, I still couldn’t help feeling that it was only a hint of what was yet to come out. It turns out that this was exactly the case, as Laster recently put out their debut full length De verste verte is hier and it improves on its predecessor in every possible way. The somber melodies are even more entrancing, and it’s evident that this band has not only been able to master this particular variant of black metal but truly push beyond its boundaries.

There are four songs on De verste verte is hier, and Laster has written material that is twice as long as before. With the exception of the six minute title track, each of these pieces stretches beyond ten minutes and uses these longer periods of time to let the atmosphere build in waves while providing plenty of unexpected twists and turns. The leads are even stronger than before, and there is the perfect balance between the rawer, lo-fi sound that one might associate with black metal and clarity that allows the melodies to expand outwards and reach their full potential. Each of the lengthier pieces uses repetitive riffing to build up the atmosphere over time, but there are transitions to unexpected elements in each one that prevents the ideas from becoming stale. You can really feel the emotion and a real sense of isolation coming from the guitar work, and this is one of those records that I’ve found myself completely sucked into on quite a few evenings. My favorite piece is “Tot de tocht ons verlicht,” which has a lead that I can only describe as majestic, and the imagery that comes to mind as I listen is that of a funeral march as a person takes their final journey into the vast nothingness. When it comes to atmospheric black metal that’s able to fully capture the sheer amount of emotion and depressive feel, Laster has completely mastered it and there isn’t a single second of the forty five minute run time that is not engaging. What surprises me the most though is how the band hints at another possible direction they may end up exploring in the future, as the title track shifts gears completely and delivers a mellower style that has more in common with post punk and shoegaze than black metal. It’s not only unexpected, but it syncs up perfectly with the rest of the album and suggests that these guys may explore this territory further in the near future.

The instrumental work may have a sense of beauty and warmth underneath the rawer exterior, but the vocals remain on the harsh side for the majority of De verste verte is hier. This was one of the elements that I thought the band excelled at on Wijsgeer & Narreman, and this is once again the case here as the shrieks and screams tower over the layers of sound and demand your attention. But this isn’t just a case where the vocalists wail and shriek in the same style for the entire release, as they shift in pitch frequently and even offer some truly off the wall moments. About three quarters of the way through “Tot de tocht ons verlicht” the instrumentals completely fade out, leaving an angelic chorus in their wake. Over top of this chorus are some of the most manic and deranged vocals I’ve heard in quite some time, and it happens so fast that it caught me off guard the first time around. It’s one of those little details that adds a considerable amount of character to this record, and this sense of unpredictability is what made this album feel so much more developed compared to the demo. When the sound shifts towards shoegaze/post punk on the title track Laster makes the jump over to clean singing, and despite the fact that this could have been a terrible way to end things if the performance hadn’t been strong enough, the somber pitch is genuinely enticing and never falters. It’s also worth noting that the way the instrumentals and vocals sound on this section aren’t just copying the same shoegaze sound every other black metal band out there has been going for, as there are some distinctive nuances present on this song.

I came into this release with very high expectations, and was completely blown away. Not only has Laster been able to capitalize on the stunning atmosphere they showcased previously, but they have continued to interject some experimentation into the black metal template that keeps things feeling fresh. De verste verte is hier has just enough rawness and that abrasive exterior to still be categorized as black metal, but it’s clear that this group is reaching for something far beyond the genre’s traditional boundaries and is continuing to discover new ways to achieve this. It remains to be seen if the shoegaze/post punk elements will be further expanded upon or if Laster will merely throw another curveball on their next record and do something completely different, but the amount of growth they’ve been able to showcase from their demo is impressive. De verste verte is hier is a record to lose yourself in, and alongside the new Fen album it’s the best atmospheric/melodically focused black metal 2014 has to offer.

- Originally written for Cosmos Gaming