Album Review: Hulder – Verbolgen
Reviewed by Oli Gonzalez
Black metal. Many of the great bands around begin life in the same way. One creative genius begins project. Project gathers momentum and said creative genius trusts others to share in their vision. Before you know it, what started as an idea eventually becomes a live band! Take Saor, Thy Light, Blackbraid, or even Gallowbraid after their headline performance at this year’s Fortress Festival. A sentence once thought impossible to write. North America’s Hulder follows this pattern, but is anything but cookie cutter nor cliche! Beginning life in the heartlands of Belgium, the project was conceived and crafted by multi-instrumentalist Marz, blending traditional black metal with haunting Pagan mysticism and harrowing medieval melody. Attendees at this year’s Samhain Antwerp (read about it here) would have bore witness to the blistering force that is Hulder’s live ritual! Now Hulder are ready to share “Verbolgen”, the next stage in their evolution.
The album opens with a little instrumental in the shape of ‘Drie Raven’. With the austere strings and woodwind playing over the pulsating percussive foundations, this was designed to be as ominous as it is eerie. Hulder have prided themselves on creating a darkened medieval vibe within their music, and they have this in absolute bucket loads here! Within this darkness, there’s something oddly relaxing about this. Yet you can’t get too comfortable as we’re launched into the meat and potatoes of the album, beginning with ‘The Crowning’. Like a snake, the song slithers and bends through a slower more gradual opening. Despite the slower pace, the densely layered wall of sound and infernal atmosphere are impossible to ignore. It feels as though they’re holding back, building to something greater. Then like a viper, they strike! The pace quickens sharply and the wall of sound becomes much thicker, hellish, underpinned by an avalanche of blast beats! The vocals of Marz holding the venom and bite though in a concoction of absolutely fierce shrieks and growls!
Hulder seem comfortable and composed, staying in this pattern for the next few songs. Something is brewing, slowly coming to temperature. It’s really during ‘…And We Shall Sing’ when we see things coming to the boil. The intensity raised, the pace dynamic, yet there’s still a delightfully warm undertone and aesthetic quality to the sound. This is driven largely by the guitars which are given more license to roam whilst the drums and bass hold down the poisoned heartbeat of the band.
The band lean more into their medieval folk roots during the outset to ‘In Blood And In Earth’, before the song is packed out with more guitar driven anthems. No silly effects or overreliance on synths. Just warm distorted riffs provided a traditional feel but with modern production. The best of both worlds, right? If the guitars were given license to roam before, they can unleash unmitigated hell during a stupendous solo during ‘Den Nacht Zijn Lied’…honestly, you’ll be rewinding and re-listening to this many many times!
Now for something very different! ‘Zonnesteen’. They may have leaned into their medieval folk roots earlier. Here, they fully embrace them in a ballad that’s more of a ritual and ode to their ancestors! Characterised by the rich intertwining melodies from the primitive percussion instruments, acoustic strings, and contrasting vocal harmonies, this is a song that would seem at home on a Wardruna or Heilung album, yet feels completely on brand for Hulder.
It’s hard to stand out in the vast vast world of black metal. Where many fail to sound different whilst remaining authentic, Hulder revel in this task in an effort that feels as genuine as it is believable. “Verbolgen” is a statement. Hulder are a sleeping giant soon to wake up and lay waste to the world of black metal!
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