
An unbiblical plague soaked in symphonic deathcore
-- When Plagues Collide --
31/03/2023
Stijn Daneels

Album genres:
■ | Symphonic deathcore |
Album artists:
■ | Wouter Dergez | Vocals |
■ | Joris Dergez | Guitars |
■ | Santy Van Der Mieren | Guitars |
■ | Siebe Hermans | Drums |
■ | Joshua Kinsbergen | Bass |
Review written by Glenn Schrijvers.
Who are they?
This Belgian band started their journey from Zaventem
back in 2016. When Plagues Collide delivers symphonic deathcore with traces of
black metal. They released 2 independent releases: the debut EP "Shrine Of
Hatred" and the debut album "Tutor Of The Dying" (the latter of which we reviewed a long time ago, read it here: https://www.belgianmetalshredder.be/reviews/98).
Live When Plagues Collide has shared stages with bands like Within Destruction, Distant, Archspire and Aborted. Due to the band's success they signed with
the Belgian record label Necktwister Reccords in 2021 and they'll be releasing their second album "An Unbiblical
Paradigm" next week. They shared stage with bands
like: Within Destruction, Distant, Archspire and Aborted. The release
show for "An Unbiblical
Paradigm" will take place at the Hell café in Diest on 9th April with support When Plagues Collide's friends called Slaughter The Giant, Knives To A Gunfight and Waves
of Decay.
The Album
"An Unbiblical Paradigm," like its predecessor, was recorded at the Project
Zero Studios by Yarne Heylen (also known as member of Carnation) for producing, mixing, engineering and
programming. In the past Yarne worked with bands like Slaughter The Giant, Epica, Schizophrenia and many more great Benelux metal acts. The cover art is something to behold! It's like a Rorschach
test because everyone would see something else. For example, personally, I see an
eagle, an elephant and a goatish devil and everything ingulfed in flames. The
album features 8 songs for a runtime of approximately 40 mins.
The tracks
When Plagues Collide unleash hell with the first track
‘Converted Into Cipher.' It starts off with an unsettling intro featuring
orchestral sounds combined with raven cries that suddenly erupt in a violently
explosion of vicious riffs, malevolent blast beats with the spiteful vocals of
Wouter. The ending breakdown with the orchestral sounds is quite something
else. It gave me chills and the urge to headbang!
Next
up is ‘Death In Progress’ wherein we even get more orchestral sounds and even more
menacing blast beats, talk about putting the pedal to the metal. Wouter's vocals are
outstanding and he shows his skillset with ferocious high-pitched screams and well-known gutturals! In this song we also have a guest appearance of Svencho (Aborted/Coffin
Feeder), something was expected to happen since When Plagues Collide's newly recruited drummer Siebe is also a bandmember of Coffin
Feeder so my hopes were high for this collaboration. Svencho delivers a fierce vocal assault that only
he can deliver with his recognizable voice. Be warned, my fellow Shredders, because this
song has the potential risk of getting your head torn off due to severe
headbanging! That outro with the piano is perfect for picking up the lost body
parts after the slaughter that has just taken place.
‘God Complex’ was the first single for "An Unbiblical Paradigm" and this one already
came out in 2022 in order to give us a glimpse of what to expect of the new album. And I've had the honor to have already experienced that one live at the front row! And this song doesn't dissapoint on record either. The orchestral sounds reminded me of Slaughter The Giant, then there's that finger
devastating solo that unleashed the smell of burned flesh along with those melodic riffs and
the guttural loaded breakdown, it's an epic tune both live and on record.
Next up is ‘Glutton’ that immediately throws everything
what When Plagues Collide has to offer from vile riffs, well-balanced
orchestral sounds with blast beats, epic solo work and some of the nastiest gutturals and
screams I've heard on record. This song has one the strongest breakdowns of the album, so brutal it could literally
break your spine! ‘Monopoly Of Violence’ was the second single for this album and came out earlier this year. It's quite remarkable that the album doesn’t slow down but keeps going like
a raging bull totally out of control! This one is also one of my personal favorite songs in When Plagues Collide's discography due thanks to Wouter absolute demolishing this track with his well-known
stance for creating these demonic noises.
The following track ‘The Grand Mouth
Of Hell’ makes you feel you've descended into hell itself thanks to the dark atmosphere and black
metal influences that are prominently featured in this track. What stands out in this song
is the perfect harmonic balance of orchestral sounds with the vicious guitar riffs and fast
paced drumming versus the slow-paced intense breakdowns. ‘Devourer Of Memories’
delivers the album's final punches in our face with deadly precision and demolishes
our eardrums with intent. The last breakdown hits out of nowhere giving me the
signature stank face (of approval).
The album's final song ‘In Alle Stilte’ is a piano-driven ballad written
by Wouter in honor of the tragic loss of Siebe's brother and is about
loneliness, depression, despair, hopelessness, suicidal desires and the invisible torment that
the victim's loved ones do not see until it's too late. The lyrics are confronting, intense and very emotional. Personally I was hit particularly hard by the phrase “Hij
wachtte tot zijn koude, helpende hand definitief kon worden verwarmd door de
uwe. Een onomkeerbare, een door uitersten
gedefinieerde handeling.
Een roeping die ook gij doopte tot
obligatoire missie.”

The verdict
When Plagues Collide is like a
fine wine, they only get better with age. They've always been working on improving their skills and this new album shows the latest progression within the band. Wouter's vocals are a true force to be reckoned with (especially
his gutturals). Siebe's drum skills are beyond amazing with his
precision,finesse and timing. In fact, I'd dare say he's the Belgian version of the late great Joey Jordison. Joris
and Santy deliver very melodic yet vicious riffs and Joshua keeps it
all together. All this creates a solid foundation that has now resulted in this masterpiece.
When Plagues Collide are the pioneers of Belgian melodic deathcore and they've now honed their craft towards absolute mastery. This is for
the Shredders who enjoy bands like Thy Art Is Murder, Ov Sulfur, Fit for An
Autopsy and Enterprise Earth.
The score
A well
deserved
90/100