
Sun comes up, we all laugh. Sun goes down, we all die...
-- Splendidula --
28/09/2020
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). One year later
the band gave me a sweet Christmas present in the form of a physical copy of
their then newly released second album “Post-Mortem,” an album I had a ton of
fun shredding through (Read my review: http://belgianmetalshredder.be/reviews/118).
And now, almost 2 years later, the band is firing me up for their upcoming
third full-length by sending over their new single. Death awaits once again!
[SHREDDING BASICS]
“Somnia” is
the first single from the third full-length from the Belgian sludge/doom metal
band Splendidula. This third album will be called “Somnus” and is scheduled for
release January 29th 2021 via the Italian record label Argonauta Records.
One thing I’ve
instantly noticed when listening to “Somnus” is the grinding main riff that
dominates the track. It’s both menacing and hypnotic at the same time and shows
a nice upgrade compared to Splendidula’s earlier sound. Kristien’s and Pieter’s
vocals have also changed a bit from their “Post Mortem” days. In this single,
Kristien sings slower and slightly lower pitched and once again her tragic yet
angelic voice provides an excellent contract to the grinding riffs from her
bandmates. Pieter’s usual grunts and shrieks are also further varied with some operatic
clean lines and the little ballad he has with Kristien near the song’s end is
particularly majestic.
Other than the
slower, heavier riffs, Splendidula’s sound hasn’t changed all that much. Underneath
the raw grinds you can still hear the band’s melodic side that hearkens to acts
like Black Sabbath and Mastodon. But this time everything is just a bit more
tighter and atmospheric.
I do highly
recommend to watch the single’s music video while listening to the single itself
since their both complement each other beautifully. The music video is a grainy,
black-and-white film wherein Kristien lies in the middle of a dead forest, sporting
thick black hair and a black gothic dress, seemingly dead before waking up from
her slumber and waking through the eerie woods as well as through a pitch black
tunnel and finally taking shelter in a self-made hut made out of dead tree
branches. The song’s crunchy beats almost sound like tv noise (and if you
remember the era of analog TVs and VCRs then you know exactly what I’m talking
about).
In fact, the
music video’s dark forest setting and VCR-like black-and-white presentation
reminds me a lot of the Japanese horror movie The Ring. Only thing missing is
Kristien coming out of a well, crawling out of my laptop screen and claiming my
soul!
[SHREDDING VISION]
Death and
darkness are once again the central themes in this new Splendidula single. And
as always the band both fears and embraces these concepts. I’ve already talked
aplenty about the “Somnia’s” music video so I’m not going to repeat myself
here. So it’s time to close off this review with…
[SHREDDER’S SCORECARD]
8,5 VHS cassettes
out of 10! Another hard-hitting yet very atmospheric tune from a band that blends
doom, sludge, post and a touch of symphony into one enticing package. And if any
of these subgenres are your cup of tea then you’ll have a great time checking out
Splendidula with their new single. Enjoy “Somnia!”