Album Review: Hemelbestormer – A Ring Of Blue Light (Ván Records)

“We are the air that Gods breathe, we are Aether, we are Hemelbestormer!”

On March 2nd 2018, doom/post-rock band Hemelbestormer (Dutch word which can be literally translated as ‘stormer of heaven’) will release their second full-length ‘A Ring Of Blue Light’ via Ván Records.

The rhythmic drum beat & feedback heavy guitars slide effortlessly into a post-rock melody as the 10-plus minute opener, Eight Billion Stars announces its arrival.

…and what an arrival it is. Deeply disturbing in its heaviness, it drips dark atmosphere even when producing glorious sounding hard-rock melody. The breath-taking opener is then followed by the rumblings of fuzzy doom mixed with eerie sci-fi effects before the more upbeat & groove-laden Towards the Nebula impresses.

The lack of vocals certainly doesn’t have a negative effect of A Ring of Blue Light even if comparisons to the likes of Deafheaven are easy to make. Hemelbestormer do make their own mark though & the variety in tracks will put a smile on faces.

Redshift is the most expansive track on the album, a gothic melody that wouldn’t sound out of place in a Silent Hill game drifts towards an injection of doom that is deeply depressing in tone. Just over the halfway mark it seems to end, going quiet before haunting & horrifying effects start up followed by an injection of heavier rock pace.

Blue Light once again offers a sort of intermission with a sweet & light melody that is wonderfully fitting for the album as a whole. The thrum of the bass against the finger-licking guitar is genius.

A great slab of doomy post rock ends on the one final lengthy push. The Serpent Bearer is a compilation of everything Hemelbestormer do well. Booming heaviness, subtle melody, haunting effects & a darkened gothic tone. A fantastic finish to a fantastic album.

Hemelbestormer – A Ring of Blue Light Full Track Listing:

1. Eight Billion Stars
2. Clusters
3. Towards the Nebula
4. Redshift
5. Blue Light
6. The Serpent Bearer

You can pick up Hemelbestormer’s music & merchandise over on Bandcamp. You can keep up to date with news of the new release & more on Facebook.