
Rock n' roll doom
-- VLOED --
02/10/2020
Stijn Daneels

Album genres:
■ | heavy metal |
■ | Doom Metal |
Album artists:
■ | Johan Vranken | Bass, guitar, vocals |
■ | John Van Tongelen | Drums, electronics, percussion |
■ | Wim Vancauwenbergh | Guitar, keys, vocals |
Review
written by Marjolein “Mrs. Metal Shredder” Deduytschaever.
A LITTLE BACKGROUND
Stijn “Metal
Shredder” had been in contact with the Belgian doom metal band VLOED for some
time now. Eventually the band had sent him a physical copy of the debut album “Darkness”
and he has now given me the opportunity to shred it in his stead. So let’s plunge
into this “Darkness.”
THE SONGS THEMSELVES
The first
song “Daylight fading” is my favourite tune of this album, it has much life into
it. The Dutch incantations are very intriguing. It’s a powerful song especially
because it’s about the apocalypse but played as a joyful party. Next up is Darkness’s
title track which is a stronger song. Like the song’s title suggests, it’s a darker
and eerier track that feels deeper and more compelling. The soft speaking, childlike
voice make this particular song even creepier.
“De Storm”,
the third song on this album is more melodic and upbeat, this is partially so
because of the backings. In this song the young voice which provides the
backings makes the song a bit lighthearted. The next song, “The prophet (Storm
II),” functions as some kind of outro to “De storm” since this tune is fully instrumental
and, just like “De Storm,” quite melodic and versatile.
“Blood Moon”
is a more psychedelic rock song than a pure metal tune. It’s kind of groovy rock
n’ roll but still very dark, just like the rest of the album. The sixth song, “Voices”
is a lot heavier than the other songs, it’s much more like a thrash metal tune.
The underlying guitar riffs are pretty rough and roaring and the drum beats are
very frantic.
“Fallen Angel”
is a raw metal song that really makes my heart sing. The vocals are quite grungy
and hard but still melodic as usual. The album’s very last song is “The Passage”
and has a quite lighthearted feel that forms the perfect ending to an overall rough
and dark album.
MY CONCLUSION
This VLOED album
brings the “Darkness” to my soul, but not in a creepy way but actually in a lighthearted
way that I really love and appreciate. With groovy guitar riffs, greasy vocals
and a dark but tongue-in-cheek atmosphere VLOED is a great Belgian band that even
I, who prefers the happy and epic metal, can fully enjoy. It’s highly recommend
to every metalhead looking for a doom rock n’ roll cocktail! Enjoy the title track of "Darkness!"
MY SCORE
80/100