The second release by Zwaertgevegt is the debut release from the Dutch duo Smoke, a band that performs improvised and chaotic (while still dark and serious) Black Metal. This release consists of two of their rehearsal sessions, one from '07 and one from '09.
The release starts with the 14 minutes long rehearsals from '07, which reminds me a lot of the seven-inch by The One that I reviewed here quite some time ago. The soundscape is very messy, hoarse, and damp. "Cavern-like", one could say. The drums are very well audible, and their lively and natural beating keeps the soundscape interesting and the songs on the move; only the bass drum is too loud, it's steady and heavy pounding does a lot of damage to the chaotic atmosphere. The guitars are quite in the back, and their simplistic riffs are usually nothing too interesting; it's their echoed sound which fills the soundscape and creates either the chaos or more peaceful but dark atmospheres. The vocals are somewhere between a shout and a high scream, and very harsh. Their echoed sound has a very tortured and fitting feel, and they add a lot to the atmosphere. If the bass drum was more in the back and the guitars had more aggressive riffs this side would be very great, but it's changes from chaos to more slowly flowing moments is a pleasing listen too. It's just musically too bare and simplistic, aside of the individual drum- and vocal work.
Side B is the newer rehearsal, and lasts for almost 30 minutes. It's soundwise a lot more gritty, fleshy and rawer, very different than the echoed and hoarser A-side. The soundscape still has it's share of dark feel though, that's for sure. The guitars sound more noisy, stronger and overall more interesting, which does wonders to the songs. The drum snares and bass drum have a very strong pounding sound that gives the songs a fittingly harsh and rugged beat while still not overrunning them, only the splashes are quite weak. The drum playing seems to be noticeably more bare on this side, but it works as they're not in a leading role. The vocals are also quite different, they're more back in the mix and don't sound as eerie. They're more low and "commanding" so to say, but sadly they don't add much to the songs because of being so back in the mix. Stronger vocals would've been needed to make the songs grab the listener's attention every now and then, now they're just there without doing much which is a great shame. Overall the B-side has more to give as a listening experience than the A-side, even though I preferred it's soundscape. The dominating chaotic moments are way more chaotic because of the strong and gritty sounds and a less commanding bass drum, and the barer and slower parts don't sound too bare simply because they're made of more "flesh". Pleasantly unpredictable and dominating.
Visually this release isn't too interesting, pretty much the same way as the label's previous release. Only the basic info and messy member pictures are to be found, along with a silhouette cannabis leaf... of which you can make your own speculations. I like the simplistic cover image and the side image, too, as they're playing with the band's name. It makes the band feel more original, and is even clever.
The songs are based on improvisations, so one can guess that they often don't have real high points. They're more (especially on the B-side) about creating and maintaining chaos with occasional pauses to give the listener time to rest his/her ears and to adjust. The band just lacks some firmness, sureness, self-awareness and plain experience with their style to really bring forward an overwhelming and addicting experience, and they need to leave out the most simplistic and basic mid-pace improvisations that can be heard on the demo a couple of times. They could also let loose more freely from time to time, especially the guitars have room for that. At least the band should try it out.
A very noteworthy new name to those who enjoy the darker, more serious side of chaotic Black Metal.