Given that Wiegedood’s members are from forward-thinking, experimental bands Amenra and Oathbreaker, the music they make in this incarnation is starkly traditionalist and intensely focused by comparison. This is coruscating black metal that prioritises groove and intensity. De Doden Hebben Het Goed III, unsurprisingly, forms the final part of a trilogy that laments the loss of a friend. Prowl is a brazen opener, a predatory groove over schizophrenic percussion. Doodskalm’s skittish chaos and shrill exhortations see rapacious speed tussling with piercing licks. The title track, which translates as ‘the dead have it good’, is a 12-minute, undulating riffscape, ever increasing in ire unto bullish closer Parool, all hissing cymbals and shunting, mesmerically ill-tempered riffing. De Doden Hebben Het Goed III succeeds as an effective summation of its predecessors: a ceaselessly anguished, punishing listen, that despite its overall lack of sonic variation prevails by sheer force of will.
Wiegedood – De Doden Hebben Het Goed III album review
A blistering black metal lament from the Church Of Ra's Wiegedood
You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.
De Doden Hebben Het Goed III
More about louder
"When my son became aware of this Swifty classic we listened to it even more than when it was initially released." Coheed and Cambria's Claudio Sanchez shares cover of Taylor Swift's Welcome To New York
"Babymetal were written into the script as a placeholder. I didn’t think we’d actually get them!" Heavier Trip director Juuso Laatio on making 2024's most metal movie
