Originally from Belgium but now firmly ensconced in the Pacific Northwest of the US, one-woman black metal project Hulder caused some ripples with debut LP, Godslastering: Hymns of a Forlorn Peasantry, in 2021. Steeped in dark medieval themes and even darker folklore, it channeled both an almost second wave black metal harshness and a folk edge to create a unique sound. Although a little rough around the edges, it promised much for the future. Hulder first graced these pages with the follow-up, 2022’s mini-album, the appropriately titled The Eternal Fanfare, which yours truly described as beginning to deliver on the promise of Godslastering. Will Verses in Oath be the album that sees Hulder fully make that transition and get the recognition she clearly merits?
Well, if it doesn’t, something has gone wrong because Verses in Oath is spellbinding. Dark and vicious, while also ethereal and strangely haunting, Hulder draws together many moods and influences and does so seamlessly. It’s no easy feat to develop a sound that feels simultaneously delicate and all-consuming, but the symphonic aspects of Verses in Oath do just that. These first surface properly on the gorgeous “Hearken the End,” which feels like Death Cult Armageddon-era Dimmu Borgir but with the edges softened by main woman Marliese Beeuwsaert’s choral clean vocals and lithe synth work, which rise and fall like a gentle swell over the raging blackened tumult. Her harsh vocals have also come on in leaps and bounds, with the first bestial, rasping roar on “Boughs Ablaze” immediately recalling Opeth’s Mikael Åkerfeldt on Morningrise, while the battering assault of the title track smolders with a sulphuric intensity. No longer a solo project, Hulder’s new drummer, CK, should take a fair amount of credit for this also, as his work is excellent throughout.
Overall, Verses in Oath has the feel of Behemoth in their The Satanist pomp but amplified by the progressive atmospherics of Panzerfaust and the wild, organic folk-inspired charms of Grima on Will of the Primordial. The record opens to sound of cawing crows on the eerie “An Elegy,” while mid-album interlude “Lamentation” is deeply unsettling in its use of distorted, fractured operatic vocals and twisted synths. These lead into the swelling synth work of “An Offering,” which straddles the ground between interlude and Unreqvited outtake. However, just as you begin to relax, you are “Cast into the Well of Remembrance,” which unleashes pitch-black nightmares and ghostly echoes of beauty. The warped riff that opens “Enchanted Steel”—by a curious coincidence, “enchanted Steel” is also how Druhm refers to his old chap of a morning—briefly lends Hulder an almost death metal vibe, before the synths bring us back to more blackened reaches. Closing the album on a high, the blazing tremolos of “Veil of Penitence” are worthy of Vredehammer but, once more, Hulder soften the edges, like razor wire wrapped in velvet.
Coming in at a perfect 40 minutes, the songwriting on Verses in Oath is great. The album has a silky flow, moving between harshness and fragility, often effortlessly blending the two (most notably on the outstanding “Hearken the End,” as well as on the title track). The folk aspects of the Hulder’s earlier work are still present but, rather than standing apart as they previously did, these are now woven into the fabric of the record, lending it a delicate feeling of intimacy that belies its harshness. Beeuwsaert’s vocals and work on guitar are stellar, while new bassist Necreon adds real depth to the sound. This is enhanced by the production. Mixed and mastered by Finland’s Ahti Kortelainen (whose list of credits includes the likes of … And Oceans and Moonsorrow), Verses in Oath sounds fantastic, with a finely balanced mix, that allows the different constituent elements of Hulder to breathe and co-exist, as they need to for this record to work.
Verses in Oath is everything I hoped for (but worried we wouldn’t get) from the follow-up to The Eternal Fanfare. Hulder has maintained the black metal core of its sound, while skilfully weaving in all the other elements, from the symphonic to the folksy, to great effect. Even the atmospheric intro and interludes, both of which I normally deride, are executed with such skill that they feel integral to Verses in Oath. Hulder has delivered an outstanding record that is making an admittedly early play for my album of the year.
Rating: 4.5/5.01
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Websites: hulder.bandcamp.com | hulder-official.com | facebook.com/hulderUS
Releases Worldwide: February 9th, 2024
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