Ziel Bevrijd

Ziel Bevrijd - Ziel Bevrijd
Les Productions Hérétique, 2011
Genre: Black Metal

1. Straal Vanhoop
3. Oppression Lointaine
3. Un Chant d'Agonie
4. Perdu à Jamais
5. La Parfum des Larmes
6. Spleen (Peste Noire Cover)

Ziel Bevrijd is a one man Black Metal project from Canada.  This tape is a re-release of what was put on a split with Csejthe.  So I figured I would just review this rather than hunt down the split.  Unfortunately, the tape is limited to 100 hand-numbered copies, of which I own #66.   It has a pro-printed booklet and cassette.

The production is that of a decent quality demo.  Things are a little more muddled than I would like though.  You can technically hear all the instruments, albeit it is not perfectly put together all the time in the mix.  I feel that if Ziel Bevrijd recorded with slightly higher production values it would fit the sound perfectly.  I don’t want pristine production, which would actually take away from the majesty of some of this music, but just a little bit higher.  Something on a similar level to what Horna uses would be perfect for this band.

That being said Ziel Bevrijd plays some extremely beautiful Black Metal.  The riffing has a very majestic and soaring atmosphere.  Then when the lead guitars kick in it really just completes the overall presentation for me.  The only problem is that the leads drown out a lot of the music as they are playing, which is why I think having a slightly better mix/production would do this work serious justice.  The drums absolutely need better production, I can’t hear the bass drum at all and the whole kit is very far away in the mix.  You can hear them just enough to make out what should be taking place and your mind will fill in the missing pieces on its own. 

This would probably be a horrifying thing to listen to if the guitar arrangements weren’t as strong.  However, they absolutely hold this band together in a way most bands wouldn’t be able to stand.  “Strall Vanhoop” is by far the strongest and most well recorded.  It made me wonder if it was recorded after the rest of the demo, but I couldn’t find out anything from the liner notes.  I was really hoping that level of quality would keep up, but alas, it did not. The second track is much weaker until you get to the clean guitar section and then it really takes off with some spectacular riffing. Compositionally the rest of the album appears to hold up to the first.  This demo closes with a Peste Noire cover and it doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the album too well.  It’s probably because there are only five original songs and I feel unsatisfied by the time I get to the cover.

In the end this is relatively a must hear (at least the first song is a must hear), it is definitely a must watch project.  I would love to see if Ziel Bevrijd can get a full release together.  It’s been a while since this music has been recorded, but a re-release like this gives me hope that the project is not ended and maybe more is coming soon!