Belgian Kludde took more than a decade to go from their debut to sophomore In de kwelm, so probably it was no surprise the band promoters has reached out extra to make the listening public aware the album is out. The assertion was that if you like something in your face and non-compromising you are going to appreciate In de kwelm. Couple of 40 min spins through the album and it is fairly certain Kludde hit hard.

After putting an album away I was trying to think whether I ever heard an album which is at least half black metal, so physical and punching, yet without any noticeable blastbeat sequence. Probably not, and it is perhaps one of the most distinguishing features of In de kwelm, the album sitting at the crossection of black, sludge, death and hardcore. Almost always multipart in their songwriting, except perhaps single purposed blackened punk Poesjkapelle, Kludde go for grinding, caustic, and at the same voluminous, with massive production values, sound. From Sons of Northern Darkness triumphant riff oriented (Kasteelke van Verdoemenis) to Motorhead tribute (Kludde IV), with drilling lead and cascading percussion, to slower grind (Schramoeille), Kludde focus on one thing and one thing only. It is how to punch you in the gut in a variety of ways. If you don’t feel bruised up by the experience you haven’t played In de kwelm loud enough. Guitar tone on the album is absolutely elephantine and overwhelms percussion and even vocals, which are even part rasp and growl. What you will remember most of all from the album from classic black’n’roll of Schabouwelijke praktijken I – De rabauwen to the end proclamation of De laatste reis, with its clamoring and accelerating chaos, is that it was very forceful.

Undisputed heaviness aside, I felt that a little melody here, evil or dreamy atmospheric, any melody, would have brightened the album and pushed it onto another plane. As protuberances rising from the churning cauldron, melodic, yet still muscular, riffs of Bloedkoesj or harmonious spill in Schramoeille after grinding build up, are the highlights In de kwelm would have benefited from. Not to diminish the effort, it feels as if though Kludde thought melody would be a sign of weakness here, but it could not be further from the truth. Being thundering and melodious at the same time would have sealed the deal, and simply would have made the album a lot more memorable without reducing its physicality.