Four years of silence have come to an end for Hemelbestormer.
In 2025, Frederik “Cozy” Cosemans (drums/keyboards, Hedonist, Rituals of the Dead Hand), Jo Driesmans (guitar), Filip Dupont (guitar/keyboards, Entartung, Lhaäd, Rituals of the Dead Hand), and Koen “Milly” Swerts (bass, Torturerama) signed with Pelagic Records, with whom they released The Radiant Veil, their fourth album.
The album begins with Usil, a long and oppressive opening track that quickly showcases the power of the quartet’s riffs, whose dissonant touch already haunts our minds, and which doesn’t shy away from adding haunting harmonics. The effects help to punctuate our progression through this dark universe, as do the regular drum beats that lead the dance towards a much more soothing final before joining Turms, where the saturation takes on heavier tones, but the leads bring soaring melodies to the whole. A few clean vocals made by Phil (Caspian) haunt the journey between the vaporous elements, but after a final blaze, the sound migrates to the short Turan and its soothing airy touches that allow us to catch our breath before confronting Tiur, which offers an immediately more mysterious sound. The arrival of the drums disturbs this semblance of tranquility, paving the way for a myriad of effects complemented by blasts, then the rhythm gently moves towards the very long Cel, which welcomes us with disturbing sounds that darken in increasingly heavy waves. The riffs slowly become more refined, offering a steady and intoxicating melody before suddenly exploding, welcoming terrifying screams before hypnotizing us, then slowing down and reaching Laran and its very slow oppression that spreads through layers that also incorporate these anguished notes before bringing lighter tones to reach Tinia after a long silence. Misty post-rock scents appear and then intensify, becoming catchy and welcoming transcendent leads, followed by strange noises that herald the final moments of the track, followed by Satre with its languid groove that suddenly bursts into flames, exposing us to sinister vocals before letting electronic effects give the track a whole new feel, even regaining a driving energy to carry us to the end.
The musicians of Hemelbestormer are far from amateurs, and the complexity of The Radiant Veil proves it. The album is very long, but it captivates us from start to finish with sounds that constantly alternate between anxiety, calm, and oppression.
90/100
