
Fade to black.
-- Splendidula --
23/01/2019
Stijn Daneels

Album genres:
■ | Sludge metal |
■ | Psychedelic metal |
■ | Doom Metal |
Album artists:
■ | Kristien | Vocals |
■ | David | Guitar |
■ | Pieter | Guitar, vocals |
■ | Peter | Bass |
■ | Joachim | Drums |
[METAL SHREDDER REPORTING]
I first
encountered Splendidula in late 2017 during the inaugural edition of Doomsday,
a doom metal dedicated event organized by my friends from Loose License. I had
a great night there and I shredded Splendidula (check it out here: http://belgianmetalshredder.be/interviews/92).
Flash-forward a year later and as a Christmas gift, Splendidula gave me a
promotional copy of their second album. Thanks a lot, fellas! You know what’s
coming next!
[THE SHREDDING BASICS]
Post Mortem
is the second full-length release from the Belgian post sludge and doom metal act
Splendidula. It’s released through Finnish record label Inverse Records and
succeeds their independently released eponymous debut album from 2013. If you’ve
listened to and enjoyed their first release then I can already tell you that
these guys and girl from Genk have significantly refined their style in those
past five years. The band combines elements from post, sludge, doom and
psychedelic metal, narrated by the angelic vocals from Kristien. Compared to
their first release, Splendidula have added a lot more speed and finesse as
well as much higher production values.
The result
is a significantly more powerful sound, songs that feel more unique to one
another and both male and female vocals. Kristien herself sounds more natural
and she frequently gets backed up by post-metal inspired shrieks from Pieter. Personally
I would’ve liked a bit more singing from Pieter since he’s great at providing contrast
to Kristien’s vocal style. But she does a tremendous job herself. Most of the
time, she sings in a calm, collective and slightly tragic voice yet it
strangely fits in both during the gentle and the heavy parts on the album. The
guitar riffs as a whole are very bass oriented (played alongside hard pounding
drums) and some of the album’s melodies remind me of classic Black Sabbath as
well as Mastodon.
Despite the almost completely different lineup (with Kristien
and David being the only two remaining members left from the 2013 release) it’s
surprising to see how positively Splendidula have evolved. Like any competent
band out there, Splendidula looked at their previous material and expanded and
amplified it. If you enjoyed the band’s first album, then getting their new
release should be a no-brainer!
[THE SHREDDING VISION]
Death is
the major theme of Post Mortem. In certain songs, such as “Insanity,” death is
put in a dark and dreary light. In other tracks, such as the ending tune “Mortem,”
death is presented as a form of release. An escape from an existence of seemingly
endless physical and mental suffering. The front cover depicts the hand-painted
black and white face of a dead woman, lying with her head gently sideways as if
she’s sleeping. It’s a display of death in all its horrific beauty.
[THE SHARPEST SHREDS & BLUNTEST BLADES]
My top pick
goes to the album’s second track, “Nami.” After the meditative opening tune “Post,”
the band kicks into high gear with a fast and thunderous barrage of riffs. It’s
one of the heaviest songs on the release and instantly shows the improvements
Splendidula have made to their sound. Another favorite of mine is the sixth
track, “Aturiento,” for beautifully showing off Splendidula’s meditative side. Alongside
gentle bass lines and soft drum beats Kristien en Pieter sing together in
French (never knew that French could sound so psychedelic, ça alors!) as the
song gradually becomes heavier and their singing becomes more intense before putting
it all down in one badass climax.
So what
about the weakest track? I’ve got some mixed feelings about the opening track, “Post.”
It is a short, atmospheric tune but since the next track, “Nami” is already
such a great song that I don’t feel this introduction is all that necessary for
the album to kick off.
[THE SHREDDER’S SCORECARD]
8 death
masks out of 10. In Fall 2017 I saw Splendidula do multiple impressive and
highly atmospheric shows and I’m very pleased to hear how the band successfully
converted their strengths live on stage to studio format (something that the
first album didn’t pull off very well). Splendidula take the typical doom and
sludge metal formulas and add a ton of pepper to it. It feels fresh yet
familiar and it’s all put together with a sense of balance and full of energy. Well
recommended to everyone looking for a good chunk of thinking man’s metal
similar to acts like Mastodon or Tool. Here’s the music video for the album’s
third track, “Too Close To Me.”