"Although Ex Est is not a concept album and every song has its typical ingredients, to me, the overall atmosphere of all the songs combined gives this album that gloomy and melancholy feeling. Albums like this must not only be heard, they must be digested like a Dahmer victim just to be with you forever, physically and spiritually"
The Dutch extreme music scene is alive and kicking and growing more than ever. Being a Dutchie myself it’s with pride how I look at the development in the quality of musicianship, creativity and total self-expression over the years, with a clear increase in the quantity of bands coming forth out of that. Festivals like Roadburn and Soulcrusher are sold out, with many bands from the Netherlands on the same billing as international (sub) top-acts, without ever being inferior to them. And the end is not in sight, on the contrary!
Ggu:ll, a blackened doom/drone metal band hailing from the city of Tilburg (home of Roadburn and the famous 013 venue), is part of that extreme scene since its inception in 2009. Under the name of Man Dies When He Wants they recorded a demo in 2010, but only in 2014 the EP Waan:Hoon saw the light of day. With a typical doom-tempo they wrote and released two full lengths, Dwaling in 2016 on Ván Records and Ex Est now in 2022 on Consouling Sounds.
On all previous releases Ggu:ll stayed true to their distinctive sound: slow, heavy, filthy and depressive. Ex Est follows that path as well. Expect a thick wall of (mostly) slow and heavy doom/drone, blackened and gutteral vocals with some noise and psychedelic infusion to make the hang-yourself-party complete.
Opener Raupe is more or less a three minute pile of distorted guitar chords that lead right into Falter that continues these stomping chords in your face. It’s from there, where your head starts nodding back and forth with the rhythm, with the pace accelerating twice and falling back again too. With just over four and a half minutes long, the two shortest songs opened the album.
The five songs that follow are all between seven and eight minutes, each with their own unique sounding; Enkel Achterland with its slow start that builds up to up-tempo with a, let’s call it a doomcore, vibe. Samt al Ras with a certain mix of funeral doom and shoegaze. Stuip, with its melody that feels like the most mellow song, but then again, with those vocals from hell on top it’s really not! Hoisting Ruined Sails sounds the most obscure and furiating. The last track, Voertuig der Verlorenen is a thundering beast that gets tamed and transforms into minutes of deppressive psychedelics resembling the most haunting Pink Floyd electronics. And with that Ggu:ll leaves you dwelling in a cold empty void, or a state after being so to speak.
Although Ex Est is not a concept album and every song has its typical ingredients, to me, the overall atmosphere of all the songs combined gives this album that gloomy and melancholy feeling. Albums like this must not only be heard, they must be digested like a Dahmer victim just to be with you forever, physically and spiritually.
And how about that amazing artwork Manuel Tinnemans from Comaworx created to complete this fine piece of Dutch art, incredible! Job well-done lads.