Niets en niemendal

So it has been a short while since Meslamtaea has released a full length album. 14 years to be exact. ‘New Era’ was the first full length of Meslamtaea and a lot of people have been very anxious for the new release ‘Niets En Niemendal’.

The whole vibe and sound of Meslamtaea has changed. The sound sounds like a professional record. Being released on Heidens Hart you need to expect something good and Meslamtaea has made a very good comeback after all these years. So, Meslamtaea has made a very painful sounding record. The voice of Floris shreeks throughout ‘Niets En Niemendal’ like a deserted depressive lost soul. On the other hand, Floris is producing more than just the shreeks. He’s also ‘telling’ in clean vocals. It really fits the whole vibe of the album. Telling you a small story right in between the mid-paced melodic black metal riffs.

Don’t expect the average melodic black metal riffs but more the melodic black metal riffs you will hear on other Dutch bands like Cultus/Grey Aura/Helleruin. You could say that Meslamtaea is a perfect example of the ‘Dutch Black Metal Sound’. The mid-paced, sometimes slow punk-like, riffs that drag you through Niets En Niemendal’. So you will understand that this isn’t your average type of black metal you know.

There are a lot of changes in the pace throughout Niets En Niemendal. To be honest, that is exactly what this album needs. Otherwise, the album would’ve been forgotten after its first year. That is what makes this album more unique in the Dutch black metal scene. It’s a very good record to listen to on road trips through the forests or even the cold northern parts of Scandinavia.

Let me say straight away that I liked the new work of Meslamtaea much more than their material on split with Cultus "Tussen werelden / Gedachten" (2008). (I haven't heard any other their releases, sorry.) There was some melodic black metal with mawky keyboards, frequent officious guitar fingerpicking and pompous "choral" singing. The new stuff is epic as before, but it became more severe. If "Gedachten" could serve as a soundtrack to "The Lord of the Rings", while "Niets en niemendal‎" paints a picture of post-apocalyptic hopelessness (but it is by no means to be a soundtrack for "Mad Max").

In fact, the "melodic" component (of black metal) is still present in the music of Meslamtaea, but it is presented in a completely different package. This is some kind of insidious creeping melodiousness – it doesn't bring sense of peace but imposes doomness. As an example I will point to the riff in the second song "Weer een dag", starting from 03:16. Actually almost every riff on "Niets en niemendal‎" is an interesting melody. Solo is not needed with such a rich structure of songs.

Keyboards are also present on this album, but this time this instrument doesn't soften the message of Meslamtaea, on the contrary deepen the doomness. As for the frequent use of acoustic guitar, to be honest, it even started to bore me. However, I cannot but mention the beginning of the second riff of the same "Weer een dag": only a fingerpicking and a blastbeat sound. Impressively. And no sugariness. In general, the work of the drummer on this album is perfect.

By the way, the beginning of this second song (which is probably the best song on the album) indicates an influence on Meslamtaea pretty clearly — In the Woods... These Norwegians are recognized also in a shrill screeming by Floris. While the voice of the second vocalist – recruit (in Meslamtaea I mean) Ward – resembles the voice of Aldrahn of Dødheimsgard. If you want one more analogy: at the fourth minute of the third song "Niemandsland" we can hear Ulver almost one-to-one, only the bass part is different. Right, it is "Nattens Madrigal – Aatte Hymne til Ulven i Manden".

I repeat: epic. And fatefully. It turns out that the post-apocalyptic world can be painted with epic colors. Perhaps, one factor works for this: the manner of execution changes often. I'm not talking about progressive metal of course, but for epic metal the result is a bit nervous. You don't have time to feel deeply one episode, and you have to listen to another. So how do you like the definition "post-apocalyptic epicism"?

The seventh track "Vervreemdingszone" ("Chernobyl Exclusion Zone") seems to draw a line under everything that Meslamtaea wanted to say: the pendulum of an old-fashioned clock ticks, the Geiger counter clicks, the acoustic guitar (or bass) plays, various ambient sounds are heard. Many beautiful sounds, but there is no life – that is what awaits humanity.