August has landed, and Dutch summer firmly has me in it’s clammy paws. As I sit here, sweating out an unseasonable bout of some mysterious illness, a chilling, forest-dwelling revenant beckons. Seeking solace in the shade of mist-shrouded pines, I accept her invitation and am transported from the muggy heat of these low lands to the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Folk and death metal infused black metal project Hulder is her name, and her frontwoman Marliese Beeuwsaert has taken this journey physically. Since starting the project in 2018, she has moved across the Atlantic— leaving Belgium for the PNW—and added bassist/shared vocalist Necreon to the bands official line-up.
Hulder’s previous record Verses in Oath (2024) briefly drew me into its orbit based on some favourable coverage in my regular haunts, and then quite quickly disappeared back behind the treeline, leaving impressions of some inspired riffs and passages and an unusually meaty, Swedeath-leaning guitar tone. It lacked a certain melodic memorability and iconic key moments to latch onto, and while at first I suspected these might shimmer into perspective out of the gloam on repeat listens, such revelation never descended from the canopy. It was with intrigue but tempered expectations that I embarked upon the dark and crooked woodland paths of Verbolgen (which according to sources translates to "Incensed", although that lacks a certain simmering resentfulness; I’d go for something in between that, like resentful, and spiteful).
After a neither offensive nor particularly memorable intro, Hulder come out of the gate quite strong, with opening one-two punch “The Crowning” and “Thy Binding Oath” showing the band's fresh shoots of folk instrumentation, still supported by dark, rhythmic undergrowth and thick, gnarled trunks of riffs, vocals howling through the branches like a biting north wind. To my mild disappointment, however, the album’s promising start loses its footing and stumbles over hidden roots and in musty burrows. As soon as the tracks revert to shorter, faster and more blackened fare, they land unfortunately between melodic and biting, offering neither grandiose mysticism nor blistering assault. Around the album’s halfway point, the moonlit clearing that opens “In Blood and in Earth” and leads toward a more deliberate, slower movement shows significant promise, although the track and Verbolgen as a whole remain rooted in a similar issue as Verses in Oath was. These albums are certainly very well performed and produced, and clearly feature a personal touch being themed around Belgian folklore and adorned with multilingual lyrics.
The album's second half features some glimmers of tantalizing starlight, most notably on the vicious riffs and melodic developments of “Den Nacht Zijn Lied” ("Night’s Song") which may hold up as the strongest track. “View From Nemeton” has some strong moments, and “A Beacon From Darkened Skies” comes perhaps closest to the kind of grand and layered melodic payoff that I expect from an album in this style. The interesting closing bonus track “Zonnesteen” ("Sunstone") leans hard into acoustic folk sensibilities, but unfortunately fails to weave their strands into a satisfying wreath with which to adorn the finished product. Whatever lingers in between the tracks I’ve mentioned unfortunately fails to become more than tantalizing silhouettes in the mist.
Having traversed its sylvan bounds, Verbolgen was a bit of a frustrating album to review. Stylistically it ticks all my boxes, the production is excellent, and musicians both new and old, guest and permanent show they have what it takes. Hulder have clearly been hard at work further carving out their sound without endangering its promising heartwood. Yet, capitalizing on that promise with an album full of songs whose resin sticks to the soul as much as it smells inviting remains tantalisingly out of reach on Verbolgen, just as it did on Verses in Oath. I fear this album will also slip out of rotation soon, although I intend to give it some more time to gestate. Perhaps when the seasons change, it will appear favorable in dwindling light.