#zwevegem

Vincent van Duysen, BS Residence, Zwevegem, 2011

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By Billy Goate

Artwork by Vladimir Chebakov

As a rule, humans spend much of our time occupied with the activities of life and daily living, perhaps very little of it thinking about the reality of death. The pandemic, however, brought death near to each one of us in a way that was terrifying, leaving many inconsolable. It is my conviction that music is a part of the process necessary for healing our emotions from such wounds. Bands like Serpentine Path, Yob, and Undersmile have helped me to stomach some serious struggles with anxiety and depression, primarily because their sound translates so remarkably to the thing I am experiencing, as though they have unlocked the secrets of communicating precisely with the emotions.

Now comes COLUMBARIUM, not a new band by any stretch (its original form echoing back to the mid '90s), but a band new to these ears, thanks to them being picked up by a label we've followed for the past 10 years in these pages, Argonauta Records. Hailing from West Flanders, Belgium, the four-member crew has married old school doom on the order of Saint Vitus and The Skull to brumal death vocals for a sound that is not only severe, but curiously elevating. For the band's premiere studio LP, 'The Morbidious One' (2023), we have here assembled the team of Pete Jules V (bass, vocals), Koen Biesbrouck (guitar, keyboard), Marc ‘Markie’ Vangheluwe (guitar), and Vincent ‘Mille’ Millecam (drums)

The first of its seven tracks is "Eyes Bleed Black," which the band states "is Columbarium in its purest form" and "was conceived from our gut feeling at one of our rehearsals." The song, dedicated to a close friend of the group, is cold, misty, and ancient sounding. Esmee Tabasco from Tyrant's Kall lends her ferocious and gnarly singing to the mix, to great effect. Lyrically, the song questions God and the often inexplicable nature of our existence. There are variations of the main theme along the way that accent the point -- from powerful and menacing, to beautiful and stately.

Oh, Griet Where’s your World Where are you We are here alone Oh, Griet, No Heaven above Nor Hell below

"The Morbidious One" features some sinister, stinging guitar tone, which really wails as the track opens. Chords are angular and statuesque, with raspy dirty vocals. Around 4 1/2 minutes in, things shift into a chugging quasi-thrash swagger, but soon return to the strange forbidding nature of its main character, which the band reveals is actually (here and throughout the album) "the deep emotion of Death."

‘The Morbidious One’ is about a tribe that divinizes Death in a positive way to ensure a safe transition to the Afterlife. The character on the cover symbolizes Death in some of the lyrics.

We get a swirl of styles in "Rivers Of Blood," which begins with resounding piano harmonies, soon joined by echoing strings, and finally the growl of the band in full form. It's an effective intro, taking us to the bard and his tale of woe. The guitar gives us a memorable passage in between verses with a rhapsodic run of notes. Meanwhile, blast beats roil and then an interlude that seems to almost levitate in its solitude. The guitar's theme returns opposite of the singer, then finally lets loose in a frenetic solo.

"Redemption" is next and its solo guitar introduction reminds me a bit of the plaintive style of the late, great Pilgrim. Soon the band hustles up and ushers us to the first verse, where the vocals are as grizzly and blood-dripping as you could ask for. And oh what a beautiful guitar lead from 4:14 to 4:46, imbued with pain, insanity, and the blues. Frontman Peter wrote this one "facing the passing of his mother in 2017. 'Redemption' is redemption from life, redemption from mental suffering." The death of his beloved mother seems to take on an almost Christlike character in the lyrics:

I am drained, of my Misery, My Preparation, for my Litany, The Last Day, Has come, When I cease to bleed, in your Arms,

"Barefoot On The Moon" is only 1:11 and makes me wish it lasted at least twice as long, owing to the appeal of the 12-string guitar matched with ghostly sanguine vocals from Michelle Nocon (ex-Bathsheba, ex-Serpentcult, ex-Death Penalty, now with Of Blood and Mercury). It's a good palate cleanser, because things are about to get brutal.

Lyrics aside, "Our Glorious Ways" feels as if it could be a Puritan hymn sung inside a church by some stern fellow back in the 1700s. It's fierce and unyielding, alternating between long, slow beats and up-tempo sprints, while the guitar hammers away at a grim piece of riff-metal, and closes with organ-like keys.

"A Cure For Everything -- Get Back Alive" is like those runs with the romping drums and devilish guitar play that we'd all look forward to on thrash albums (or even from Witchfinder General and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal). Dual guitars come out to play, ravaging and savaging along the way with nimble tremeloes and dank chord progressions. At the three-minute mark, a switch to doom mode with a guitar harmonies so sweet it hurts to think about it too long. So it disappears and then comes back a minute later.

From there the theme develops improvisationally, then at 5:13 the thrash comes back and continues undaunted until the bass throws its weight around in an amazing solo. Aside from OM and Sleep, it seems rare to see an extended bass section of this kind, and that alone is worth sticking around for. And this bass, already downtuned, gets dead on your belly low! What an awesome bookend to what has been a strong album overall.

Look for Columbarium's The Morbidious One on CD and vinyl via Argonauta Records, with the digital album releasing this Friday, September 29th (pre-order here). Stick it on a playlist with Marche Funebre, Conviction, Barabbas, Pilgrim, and Purification.

Give ear...

SOME BUZZ

Columbarium is a Belgian (from the village of Zwevegem) heavy Doom band which found its birth in 2021, but was conceived of seasoned members from the doom scene for over ten years. Having played about a 100 gigs in a former setup in Belgium, the Netherlands and France with bands like The Gates Of Slumber, Nekromant, Marche Funèbre, Serpent Venom, FAAL, Famyne, King Hiss and at fests like Little Devil Doom Days etc., they have built a serious reputation as a live act in the last decade. The addition of an extra guitar/keyboard player some years ago (Koen Biesbrouck, formerly also from the avant-garde, instrumental band Locus Control) has taken the music to another horizon and that newfound sound of the band was the cradle for the bands rebirth.

Columbarium found that sound in engaging with Belgian producer Lander Cluyse from Hearse Studio (Amenra, Aborted) and with Brad Boatright from AudioSiege Mastering Studio (US/Portland who worked with the likes of Monolord and Pig Destroyer). Together they found the sound they have always dug for in the Flemish clay. Columbarium played their first gig at the end of September 2021 with brothers in arms funeral doom band FAAL at the well-known underground club Little Devil in Tilburg/the Netherlands. Being the first gig in over two years at the venue, it was a memorable evening in a sold-out and very cozy setting.

As a teaser to the bands’ music, Columbarium independently released a lyric-video for the song ‘Rivers Of Blood’ on the 17th of December 2021. It got noticed by Belgian independent label Dust & Bones Records and it was very quickly clear that label manager Frederik Vanhee and the boys were assimilated minds in being metal freaks in heart and soul and having passed a lifetime of love for all kinds of different metal genres.

This resulted in the release of a first single ‘Rivers Of Blood’ with the title track and ( even though it’s not) B-side track ‘Save Our Children.’ It was released on the 23rd of May 2022 on limited, hand-numbered cassette and digital streaming and download on all platforms. The release was supported by a visualizer for the new song ‘Save Our Children’ which saw the dawn of day on the 23rd of May. The single was meant to be a ‘getting to know the band’ before the release of a full album in 2023.

Bass player/vocalist Pete states: ‘It feels rather uncomfortable to describe your own music and actually we don't like doing so, but we go through life as a heavy Doom metal band with influences ranging from blues to some earlier slower death metal. To say it with the words from our good friend William Nijhof of funeral doom band FAAL, ‘A super combi between miserable and brutal!’

Having recorded that first full album with the title ‘The Morbidious One’ from April 2022 until mid July 2022, the mix and full production was finished in February 2023 by Lander Cluyse from Hearse Studio, who also did the first single in 2022. In March the band was picked up by Italian specialized Stoner/Doom/Sludge label Argonauta Records for release of the full album at the end of September 2023.

The Morbidious One by Columbarium

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