You can’t deny the Netherlands has a thriving black metal scene, giving us gems such as Terzij de Horde, Fluisteraars, and Laster. One of the more recent bands to catch my attention in the past few years is Verwoed, whose previous album, De Val, held me in a grip in mid-2020. It took me a while to fully understand De Val musically, but once it clicked I couldn’t stop thinking about it. When a new album was announced, I knew I had to listen to it.

And it seems The Mother is everything De Val was and more.

De Val was a psychedelic affair, in that the music felt difficult to categorize and even enjoy. When I first listened, I could taste the texture Verwoed created. It felt nightmarish, as if I were stepping into an unmapped realm of black metal I wasn’t aware of. However, on The Mother, the music feels grounded and easier to digest. It also helps that the Verwoed gave themselves more time to explore the more atmospheric and blackened aspects of their sound, complete with instrumental tracks that highlight maturity and growth. Opening track “A Prayer of Blood and Fire” starts off with a rhythmic guitar intro that transitions into this atmospheric soundscape that sounds reverent, laying the foundation for something to come. The music begins to pick up in tempo towards the end of the track, ending in feedback that bleeds into the title track, which is where the album displays its true colors, creating a haunting background that sounds like an expansion of De Val. The music takes on a psychedelic quality, aiming to both confuse and enrapture the listener. You can’t help but give in to the experience, the band asking you to suspend your disbelief that black metal can have this texture, this vibrant quality to it.

As The Mother continues, the music intensifies, becoming more experimental and rhythmic. While there is a consistent drum beat and guitar anchoring the music, it’s the other items – the feedback, the softer plucking, the vocals – that give the music an edge. There is tension and dissonance, but it isn’t used to muddle the sonic choices Verwoed has made. It adds to its palette, each track having its own distinct identity that makes you remember your placement on the album. It’s easy to get lost in the experience that The Mother sets up: you are waiting for the tension to break, for the music to become cacophonous and melt your mind into your skull. However, those never come to fruition, and so you wait endlessly for an end to arrive. This is the black metal that beckons me back, where there are still gems to be found amongst the white noise and overall saturation of the genre.

Instrumental tracks, usually only there to add ambiance do double duty here: not only do they enhance an already haunting atmosphere, they also serve as palette cleansers, allowing the listener to reorient themselves on the journey to the abyss. These tracks also give Verwoed the space to work towards the two-song segment, with “Seven Trumpets” transitioning into “The Child” and “Church of Null and Void” transitioning into closer “Death in a Rosary.”

Overall, The Mother is an excellent album, its intensity and calamitous nature a highlight of Verwoed’s extensive sonic palette. Listening made me both appreciate and understand De Val in a way that I didn’t think I would, compelling me to revisit that album in preparation for this review. There is so much to take away from this album and I am pleased to see that, despite the time between releases, Verwoed has stuck to its ideas and foundations, refusing to compromise on their vision. While its overall themes and nuances remain shrouded in mystery, listening to The Mother is an experience I will not forget any time soon.

–Hera

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The Mother is available March 29 on Wolves of Hades/Argento Records. For more information on Verwoed, visit their official Facebook.