Radbraker – When the Mist Falls...

Do you believe in falling in love with a band on first listen? It’s a rare phenomenon in my life, but yes, I do. But what if you experience it with a band you’ve never heard before, and with their debut album, no less? I think that calls for something beyond a “miracle.” As I write these words, I’m listening to Belgian band Radbraker, and I still haven’t quite recovered from the shock.

Excessive praise is often the product of obsessive fandom, and when expressed, it tends to amount to little more than insincere, generic platitudes. But here we’re talking about a band just taking its first steps discographically, one whose past achievements we can’t fall back on, leaving us face to face with their work in its purest form. This appreciation, then, is the result of sheer, unfiltered enchantment.

I absolutely love the album’s sound. The band has built a tremendous dark atmosphere that is entirely its own and unquestionably original. The way the vocals are woven throughout the album and positioned in the mix is particularly successful. That unsettling aura, hovering somewhere between a scream and a desperate plea, is personally my favourite vocal style in Black Metal. A quality scream vocal with character, one that doesn’t sound derivative, is, in my opinion, a rare find in this genre. Radbraker have more than pulled it off. To briefly and directly take stock of the album, it runs for around 40 minutes and consists of five tracks. I’d say that’s more than enough for a debut, with everything kept just right.

It’s been a long time since I heard a debut album that opened with such an impressive intro. I’m not sure how to describe it, but I’ll try. Close your eyes and imagine yourself at a turning point in your life, standing at that threshold where you have to decide whether to call it quits or carry on. You know that final, deep breath that fills your chest before you make a radical decision? That’s exactly what this intro feels like. That mystical moment when your entire life flashes before your eyes, like scenes from a film, has been captured flawlessly in the album’s opening.

The opening track that follows, “Kadaverdauw,” is absolutely mind-blowing. How can a debut album have an opening track this mature and devastatingly effective? As a longtime Black Metal listener, I can’t remember the last time I was this surprised. I’m aware that this review is emotional and perhaps a little too personal, but when it comes to this album and this band, I choose honesty over taking a didactic approach. Because musical encounters of this kind are rare. A band taking you prisoner with the very first song on its debut album... That’s exactly what I feel: a sense of being possessed.

My astonishment only grows with the second track, “Edele gramschap.” The female vocals that enter here are genuinely spine-tingling and fit the track’s atmosphere beautifully. As the album progresses, its music leaves an increasingly lasting impression on my mind. Carried along by these intense feelings, I reach the third stop, “Katharsis.” With its deep, melancholic structure, the song immediately draws the listener into its vortex. The way it blends sorrow and darkness is unquestionably flawless.

The fourth track, “Danst bok dans,” is one of the album’s strongest moments. I love the way different genres bleed into one another within the song, and how it manages to be both tranquil and so forceful at the same time. Closing track “Duizend haerden” catches us off guard once again with its exquisite opening guitar passage and the powerful structure that follows. Although it seems to whisper that we’ve reached the end, trying to calm us down, it reminds us that we’re caught in a cycle, much like life itself, before shaking us once more and bringing the curtain down.

It’s been a long time since a new release affected me this deeply and gave me so much to draw from. In that sense, “When the Mist Falls” has given me some firsts of my own, while also being, in my view, a magnificent debut for Radbraker. I believe it deserves to take its place in the band’s history with pride. I hope you’ll share similar feelings when 30 October arrives and you get to hear the album. I have a feeling we’ll be hearing this band’s name at plenty of niche festivals in the years to come. I’m still not sure whether what they’re giving voice to is a plea or a scream, but the lands this band promises us are certainly far from barren. I’d advise you to claim your spot right up front now.

Stay metal.

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