Schavot already announces its second album.
Formed in 2021 in the Netherlands, the band created by Floris (all instruments/vocals, Asgrauw, Annwfyn, Meslamtaea, Sagenland) released its first album the same year. Announced with a single for 2023, Kronieken uit de nevel comes out at Void Wanderer Productions.
Onmens and its enchanting female backing vocals open the doors to this raw and melodic album before possessed screams come in to strengthen the sound’s aggressive side. The additional vocals make the atmosphere and the Old School mix ominous while keyboards soothe it, letting Geestenrijk take us into darker and deeper sounds with sharp riffs. The choirs borrow from catchy Pagan/Black again while the cold frantic basis sometimes slows down to reveal soaring tones like on the heady Heksenwaan and its melancholic riffs. We also find fast and massive blast parts, while Hijs de zeilen offers us Scandinavian influences borrowed from the scene’s roots, and that the band skilfully couples with its heavy but sometimes dreamy cold touch. The atmosphere becomes softer when Zwart water begins, letting epic leads drive the track before blast and screams emerge again, creating an abrasive contrast between the two complementary parts, followed by the short and incisive Kerberos which unleashes all the musician’s rage. Some softer melodies join the riffs before Niet alleen de avond valt comes to lock us in its heady darkness with dissonant leads. The icy wave is broken by an enchanting short break, then the storm starts again with plaintive screams on top of this raw basis, followed by De laatste in gedanst, the final composition, which slowly lures us into its nets with soothing sounds before covering them with a dark and sometimes epic saturation which draws again from Old School roots to ensure a catchy aggressiveness.
Schavot mixes Scandinavian influences and his own touch to create an impressive and extremely addictive icy universe. Kronieken uit de nevel is an extremely rich album which compensates for its length with mesmerizing Old School riffs.
95/100
