omgeving-wijdewijdte-reviews

Review from Metalfan.nl

Mon, 20 May 2019 22:05:45 +0100

From: Metalfan.nl

Published: May 16, 2019

De sfeervolle hoes, het predikaat ‘post-black/doom’ en de constatering dat Hypnotic Dirge Records verantwoordelijk is voor de release van dit album, geven een goede indicatie van de muziek die de luisteraar op Wijde Wijdte, het debuutalbum van het eenmansproject Omgeving, kan verwachten. En inderdaad: de uitgesponnen, wijd uitwaaierende klankentapijten vol ruizige, introverte black/doom met ambient- en blackgaze-invloeden waarvan Omgeving zich bedient, liggen in de lijn der verwachting. Dit is typisch een album waarop niet ‘het liedje’ centraal staat, maar sfeer en introspectie sleutelwoorden zijn.

Het meest opmerkelijke aan dit album is dat de persoon achter Omgeving, Franck Johanson, normaal gesproken actief is in de opgefokte, energieke thrashmetalband Distillator. Met thrash metal heeft Omgeving echter volstrekt niets te maken. Het lijkt erop alsof Omgeving aan Johanson de mogelijkheid biedt om de ideeën en gedachten die hij niet kwijt kan bij Distillator van zich af te schrijven. De glimp die Omgeving biedt in zijn hersenspinsels is in ieder geval intrigerend genoeg. De introspectieve raamstaarmuziek, waarin het meest ritmische instrument de prominent aanwezige basgitaar is, werkt heerlijk om mee weg te dromen. De wollige keyboarddeken zorgt voor een hallucinante ondertoon.

Wijde Wijdte zit vol paradoxen. Zo zijn de composities ronduit wonderlijk te noemen. Ze zijn avantgardistisch en fragmentarisch, bieden weinig houvast, maar zijn toch beklijvend en nergens inconsistent. Qua stijl roepen ze vooral herinneringen op aan de slepende nummers van Blut Aus Nord. De productie van het album is al even paradoxaal. Die is namelijk zwaar en duister, maar ook dromerig en op een bepaalde manier zelfs sereen. Juist door dit soort schijnbare tegenstellingen fascineert Omgeving. Luister maar eens naar het boeiende Daar Waar De Tijd Smelt, dat begint met dissonant gefrutsel en daarna overgaat in een hypnotiserend, monotoon ritme. Of het titelnummer, dat met zijn keyboardgedreven ‘drones’ aan Ulver doet denken.

Op sommige momenten is te horen dat Wijde Wijdte een debuutalbum is. Zo zitten de meeste nummers volgens hetzelfde stramien in elkaar. Daarmee houdt de band wel een bepaalde ‘flow’ vast, maar missen sommige nummers een eigen identiteit. Uitzondering op de regel is het zeer sterke nummer Stille Vernietiging, dat broeierige riffs combineert met bevreemdende keyboardklanken. De track verdient een eervolle vermelding vanwege de manier waarop deze een spaarzame versnelling integreert. Wijde Wijdte is een bijzonder album, dat het absoluut verdient om gehoord te worden. Ik ben benieuwd of het bij een eenmalig uitstapje blijft, of dat Johanson het experiment blijft opzoeken in de toekomst.

Rating: 78/100

Reviewed by: Rik

Review from Deaf Sparrow

Mon, 13 May 2019 01:28:54 +0100

From: Deaf Sparrow

Published: May 10, 2019

Original Link

Now here's a guy who knows exactly what he's about all...the...time. Honestly not sure I do, however. Look at that cover by Polish tatoo artist Kuba Kujawa. Seriously look at it. Do you know what's going on there? You might think so at first. Now the band name, Omgeving, is Dutch for "surroundings" and this is the type of album that will certainly surround you in every way possible, but it doesn't seem that way at first, to be honest. To be honester I honestly hated it when I first listened to it. I imagined this one-man impressionistic guitarist running with that description I just made up with a cocky smirk on his face as he played in front of a crowd of his mom. Dad? Nah, because it's a case of "don't know what happened to that boy..." That's exactly what you're going to think when Wijde Wijdte begins. Honestly you're wrong, but I might be too.

Omgeving is just a single bearded man, Fran e Riet, who has a number of previous incarnations. And if you're not familiar with the impressionistic side of Dutch post-metal, exit this review and stick to thrash. Wijde Wijdte is a clear culmination of all of his previous forms into one beast that looks deceptively meek. First off, totally without vocals, an experimental mistake that is often billed as "progressive". Omgeving doesn't need vocals, it's all about the sound. Best described as impressionistic (I have an Art History BA NO JOKE), the album is a deceptively simple pastiche of musical artistry that ends up being less needlessly complex than this sentence. Much like the cover, it's a somewhat erotic, finely-layered composition, running its fingers over your flesh until you pre. The parts are clear when focused upon, but together it becomes an otherworldly experiment I'm honestly not sure I entirely understand, just like the title, which is something like "Wide Width" in English. It's either not fully formed, or above me. Probably not the latter, but I cannot in good faith say it is anything but finely-crafted.

Rating: 4/5

Review from Chama do Metal

Wed, 17 Apr 2019 21:15:49 +0100

From: Chama do Metal

Published: April 16, 2019

Original Link

Omgeving é um projeto de Doom/Black Metal bastante experimental desenvolvido na Holanda por Franck Johanson, ao qual é encarregado por todos os instrumentos, sendo Wijde Wijdte, seu trabalho de estreia, lançado no ano de 2018. Omgeving possui uma característica peculiar, não há vocais, com o trabalho inteiramente instrumental, sendo perceptível que as reais intenções do álbum é focar em algo mais “atmosférico”, estando presente, uma gama de riffs característicos de Black Metal, com segundas linhas de guitarra mais harmônicas casadas com um teclado para dar o ar sombrio característico, as vezes lembrando um Depressive Black Metal. A velocidade se mantém lentamente uniforme ao longo do desenvolvimento do álbum, havendo pouquíssimos momentos de exploração de aceleração, como já demonstrado logo de cara nas primeiras faixas “Ouverture 2015” (esta digna do termo sombrio) e “Zwaartekracht Bestaat Hier Niet” onde a presença dos teclados se torna uma com a linha solo de guitarra.

As guitarras possuem um timbre pesado, e flertam com a melancolia oras com o mistério, como na faixa “De Zon Ontmoet De Aarde”, que mal possui a presença de baterias, dando um ar de suspense, funcionando como uma faixa de introdução para a seguinte, “Wijde Wijdte”, que além de carregar o título do álbum, apresenta-se completamente atmosférica, sem a presença do trio guitarra/baixo/bateria, somente um sintetizador ao fundo, demonstrando claras influências de Dark Ambient no trabalho. Tirando as particularidades comentadas a respeito das duas faixas anteriores, o álbum se mante uniforme do início ao fim, sendo muito presente nele por completo uma atmosfera de mistério e suspense, por vezes melancolia, tornando este um trabalho bastante peculiar. Wijde Wijdte se trata de mais uma banda perfeita para momentos de contemplação, ambientando o ouvinte por um ambiente obscuro e sombrio e mergulhado na tensão.

Reviewed by: Eduardo Ronconi

Review from Sic Maggot Zine

Sun, 31 Mar 2019 21:36:08 +0100

From: Sic Maggot

Published: March 19, 2019

Original Link

Things from the Canadian publishing house Hypnotic Dirge Records I liked quite a while. Gradually, however, the taste has fallen, and recently, the newly released recordings of this otherwise rather sympathetic company I only rarely listen. I decided to fix it at least a bit through the debut "Wijde wijdte" of the Dutch project Omgeving . The genre box of post-black / doom metal looks quite repulsive, but the albums seemed pretty good to me, so I finally tried.

Dutch musician Franck Johanson is behind Omgeving , who has been working in a bunch of local bands. Probably the best-known name will be Thrashovka Distillator , which has two albums on it, but I can't tell if I actually heard the name somewhere, or I only know it because it's so common and interchangeable, because every second thrashmetal gang. Otherwise, they are the same unknown formations whose appointment does not need to be delayed. Those interested can surely find Metal Archives and see for themselves.

The musical direction of Omgeving has already been suggested above. Fortunately, however, I can add that although there are also elements typical of modern post-black metal, it is not a black-eye cream, and you have to think about the taste, mental health and sexual orientation of the authors. "Wijde wijdte" is not such a tasteless cesspool.

In fact, "Wijde wijdte" surprised me at the first hearing . All the melodies sounded nice enough to me and I could also talk about the atmosphere, which was not so impressive, but a certain charisma radiated from the beginning. So there was satisfaction…

However, this is not the case. The first impression is one thing, but the quality of any album can be judged with greater consideration, which does not come before more listening. And in the discipline of durability, "Wijde wijdte" was no longer convinced as it seemed at first.

In other words, with the passage of time "Wijde wijdte" weakens in a few passages. Many motifs have gone through quite quickly and have become gray. The first part of the recording, namely "Ouverture 2015" or "Zwaartekracht bestaat hier niet" , partly "Daar waar de tijd smelt" , fights most with this ailment , although there are also times when stricter standards can be applied.

Paradoxically, the strongest is the album in moments that are not so strictly metallic and play an "ambient" tinge, even though it is not always the case. By this I mean, for example, "De zon ontmoet de aarde" or certain passages "Eenzaamheid in extase" . The highlight for me is purely ambient things like the title "Wijde wijdte" and "De weg naar het donker is nauwelijks verlicht" , in which they create a great atmosphere.

One more thing is worth mentioning - "Wijde wijdte" is a purely instrumental recording. With this concept, Omgeving fought with honor, because the vocals didn't miss me here. For a while, I didn't really realize that she wasn't singing at all, but that could be seen as a sign that singing wasn't really missing. It is also nice to me that the vocal is not being replaced by an excess of solo guitar, as it often happens.

So how does "Wijde wijdte" stand? Certainly it is nice, it listens pleasantly and I dare say that the light above average is definitely playing here. It is certainly not a miracle, but if you are in the mood for more gentle atmospheric metal then Omgeving's debut can serve with dignity.

Review from Noizz Webzine

Sat, 16 Mar 2019 22:13:34 +0100

From: Noizz Webzine

Published: March 14, 2019

Original Link

Tras el nombre de OMGEVING se encuentra el proyecto en solitario del músico holandés Franck Johanson (DISTILLATOR), quien ha dado rienda suelta a su pasión por el Metal más oscuro y la experimentación sonora, como podemos comprobar en lo que es su álbum debut “Wijde Wijdte”. Ocho cortes que vienen envueltos en un bonito digipack de varios cuerpos en el que destaca sobremanera la magnífica portada creada por Kuba Kujawa, con esa imagen onírica y atrayente que ayuda a pillar con ganas el disco. En cualquier caso, tengo que decir que la música del álbum es mucho más etérea y abstracta que esta atractiva imagen en la que todavía se distinguen las formas con claridad. Y es que este primer disco del holandés se basa en ambientes y paisajes sonoros de gran profundidad.

“Wijde Wijdte” es un trabajo instrumental que toma influencias del Post Rock, del Ambient y, sobre todo del Doom Metal, por lo que los temas pueden pasar de la contundencia y la pesadez más oscuras a los pasajes atmosféricos de corte minimalista. Y es que OMGEVING es especialista en progresiones que van creciendo o decreciendo en intensidad, llevando consigo al oyente a través de un trance hipnótico del que es difícil sustraerse. Por eso, las imágenes que evoca el álbum son mucho más complicadas de representar que un desnudo femenino ya que lo que puede venirte a la cabeza son abismos internos o universos inabarcables, para los que habría que recurrir a la abstracción si se pretende representar semejantes paisajes. Esto no quita que la portada siga siendo atractiva y sirva de complemento perfecto al álbum, tomando como común denominador ese ambiente etéreo y sombrío que hay tanto en la música como en la imagen.

El sello canadiense Hypnotic Dirge Records ha sido el encargado de editar este debut de OMGEVING, sumándose a la interesante colección de artistas que recoge la firma y añadiendo otro gran álbum a su lista. Y es que, pese a la aureola underground que envuelve al trabajo, hay que reconocer que se trata de un inspirado viaje sonoro a las profundidades más oscuras del panorama, de hecho, si te gustan el Doom y el Post Rock instrumental es más que probable que “Wijde Wijdte” te seduzca con sus ecos abismales. Y todo ello salido de la mano y el talento de un solo tipo, Franck Johanson, quien ha escrito, grabado y mezclado el álbum. Un gran debut, en definitiva, que merece la pena escuchar en calma y con las luces apagadas.

Rating: 8/10

Review from Ave Noctum

Sat, 16 Mar 2019 22:10:57 +0100

From: Ave Noctum

Published: March 14, 2019

Original Link

Instrumental albums and artists used to really bug me, I can’t quite put my finger on why they just did. Perhaps it was the fact that I didn’t have much time or care for more progressive sounds, or maybe it was because I felt as if it was lacking something. Whatever the case may be I have since grown up shall we say and now fully embrace a whole range of genres that are often pretty firmly rooted in the instrumental field. Give me anything from Classical to Post-Rock, to Ambient, Vaporwave and beyond I’ll give most things a go nowadays so bring it on.

Birthed from the mind of the Dutch musician Franck Johanson of Distillator fame comes Omgeving. This Experimental instrumental project is far removed from the musicians more Thrash based roots in Distillator. In fact this is pretty much the polar opposite when it comes to Metal, moving from the speed of Thrash to the winding soundscapes of Post-Black and Doom Metal. Wijde Wijdte is the artists debut but how does it play out, is it an immersive journey of self discovery or merely a self-indulgent abyss?

I think to look upon this album track by track would be the wrong approach, the album is a journey and should be treated as such, when creating this sort of release one must consider the full album approach and play things out accordingly. From the beginning there is a definite sense of Prog, mixed with a pretty heavy Post-Black Metal influence and also perhaps even some notions of Drone and Atmospheric Black Metal. This album is all about conjuring up images and building an ethereal totem of enveloping darkness. It certainly achieves the big sounds in which it promises, in fact the riffs found in Daar Waar De Tijd Smelt and Eenzaamheid In Extase are almost become hypnotic at points.

Yet is that enough to keep things interesting? Whilst I don’t dislike this album is really does have that background music vibe about it, it’s almost crying out for some big Funeral Doom vocals or something extra. Don’t get me wrong I am often all for background music, sometimes it’s just what you need and as far as background music goes this is pretty high up the pecking order when it comes to quality. All that said as a sort of immersive listen the album can become pretty laborious, I feel for a debut this certainly shows some strengths but overall it becomes tiresome quickly.

I think in some strange way Wijde Wijdte takes me back to the thought process of why I never used to enjoy instrumental music, it’s that sense of something lacking. This album could be improved ten-fold with the addition of some nasty vocals but instead it ambles along creating very listenable and interesting soundscapes that are so close to hitting the mark of perfection but are left to rot as a silent scream hides behind their walls. That said perhaps that sense of longing is merely my own personal emotional evocation from this release, I long for that scream but it never comes an album that stirs up images of entrapment and imprisonment.

Rating: 6/10

Reviewed by: George Caley

Review from RTMB Music

Mon, 11 Feb 2019 21:00:36 +0100

From: RTMB Music

Published: February 1, 2019

Original Link

Post-black-doom proveniente de los países bajos, esta banda es el proyecto debut de un solo músico, Frank Johanson, y definitivamente este hombre crea un sonido que no será del agrado de los entusiastas más encariñados con los sonidos tradicionales de la música extrema.

Wijde Wijtde, es una colección de temas que definen lo que experimental significa, sonidos ambientales que escasamente podrías definir dentro de algún genero especifico de la música extrema (de ahí parten mis signos de interrogación iniciales). Si bien te puedes encontrar temas que contengan un poco de instrumentación tradicional (guitarra, bajo batería), que contenga breves momentos de distorsión, estás frente a una obra que trata de transmitir su mensaje principalmente con atmósferas, sintetizadores y sonidos ambientales con una idea muy presente de oscuridad, misticismo y angustia.

Wijde Wijtde es un álbum de música inclasificable, que se roza con muchas ideas provenientes de muchos géneros, pero al cual la sobre-clasificación le puede causar mucho daño, ya que, si yo veo que es un proyecto de post black, automáticamente lo voy a relacionar mentalmente con proyectos con los cuales no está asociada esta música, este es un álbum más cerca de proyectos como Sun O que de Deafheaven, y eso ya forzando mucho la referencia.

Johanson está muy ocupado creando sonoridades que transmitan, muchas de ellas basadas en la ambientación, en canciones altamente atmosféricas que son acompañadas de incursiones melódicas con guitarras dedicadas a esa función. Obviamente el compositor, no abandona del todo su origen extremo y en canciones como “Stille Vernietging”, una de las más largas del álbum, nos complace con una transición muy black metal, muy potente, que tiene la singularidad de sonar casi electrónico porque es muy notorio que la base rítmica es interpretada a través de una máquina.

Wijde significa ancho o amplio, y creo que al final la idea que trata de transmitir es captada de forma muy clara por el escucha, Johanson trata de crear este disco como una arista de muchas de sus influencias, invariablemente la idea es captada, aunque siendo un entusiasta más exigente, no sea logrado del todo, si bien no es un disco plano, la misma naturaleza experimental lo acerca mucho a ser un álbum de música contemplativa, que es sacado de ese marasmo a través de esos devaneos con la instrumentación más cercana al metal, cuando lo escucho repetidamente, me lleva a pensar mucho en proyectos similares, tales como el de Richard Barbieri, en esos puntos que aquí menciono, el álbum se acerca a lo que en la actualidad podrías definir como “progresivo”.

En lo personal, disfruto mucho este tipo de proyectos, estos álbumes son parte muy esencial de la discografía personal, ya que prefiero las sutiles insinuaciones de músicos que se atreven a rebasar sus fronteras, que el sucio descaro de la repetición y el conformismo, además, se trata de discos de muchas capas, a los cuales hay que ponerles especial atención en cada escucha para reconocer un recurso distinto en cada ocasión.

En este punto la calificación quizás se quede corta, pero 8.5 ó quizás 8, al tratarse de un disco que no va unificar criterios, y quedará reducido a estatus de culto prácticamente desde su nacimiento.

Rating: 8/10

Reviewed by: Carlos Téllez Castañeda

Review from Dead Rheteric

Wed, 23 Jan 2019 20:09:07 +0100

From: Dead Rheteric

Published: January 17, 2019

Original Link

Omgeving is an experimental project from Franck Johanson (of the thrash band Distillator) that attempts to do a number of different things and combine them into a fluid experience. Being on the Hypnotic Dirge label, one can already imagine that the album is going to be something different and off the beaten path (as well as bring in some gloom of some sort). None of those assumptions are incorrect, and Omgeving manages to provide a unique listen, albeit one that not everyone will be able to get into.

Wijde Wijdte pools influences from some vast sources and does manage to create a unique and fluid vibe from these collective parts. You can hear Johanson pulling from doom, black, space rock, drone, industrial, and ambient as each song progresses. The synths are used well in a way that blurs between these influences, and the minimal-esque riffing makes the whole affair seem almost like it is a soundtrack in its quality. Some tracks move towards a more mellow vibe, while others have a larger sense of malice to them, even if they don’t tear up the accelerator. Instead it’s a moody darkness, clearly with a black metal backing but without the tremolo picking speed runs. “De Zon Ontmoet de Aarde” is quite bleak in tone, for instance, but in a way that would swallow you up rather than pummel you. Some of the droning aspects may not be for everyone though, and with some of the 6-7 minute songs it does feel like a few of them begin to drag a bit as they indulge the more soundtrack-esque and trippy parts. It’s a necessary contrast, but also one that occasionally lingers a bit further than needed.

Omgeving does have a flavor all of its own, though your thoughts on some of its more droning aspects will ultimately be the deciding factor in how often you return to it. But with a cinematic quality that can provide both transcendence and malevolence all in one, it’s well worth an exploration to see if you dig it.

Rating: 7.5/10

Reviewed by: Kyle McGinn

Review from Crossfire Metal

Thu, 17 Jan 2019 21:36:51 +0100

From: Crossfire Metal

Published: January 15, 2019

Original Link

Omgeving ist das Soloprojekt des Niederländers Frank Johanson von den Thrash Metallern Distillator, die im letzten Jahr eine Split-CD mit den Berlinern von Space Chaser veröffentlicht hatten. Hier bezeichnet er seine Musik schlicht als „Klanglandschaften“, was es im Grunde auch am besten trifft. Bei Metal Archives steht als Beschreibung dafür eine Mischung aus Post-Black- und Doom Metal. Kombiniert werden hier aber vor allem Space Rock, Dark Ambient und Doom. Acht Songs sind auf dieser Digipack-CD enthalten, die den einzigen Tonträger unter diesem Banner darstellt und mit einem tollen Artwork glänzt, das einem Gemälde gleicht. Alle Tracks beginnen mit der jeweiligen römischen Zahl (also I bis VIII). Der Zusatztitel des Openers „Ouverture 2015“ deutet darauf hin, dass mindestens drei Jahre bis zur Fertigstellung des Albums ins Land gezogen sind. Alle Songtitel sind in der niederländischen Landessprache verfasst, Gesang gibt es aber nicht. Die Musik klingt episch, psychedelisch, atmosphärisch und verträumt. Die simplen Riffs werden eindrucksvoll untermalt von pompösen Keyboards, die der Musik eine ganz besondere Atmosphäre verleihen. Omgeving zeichnet sich durch spannenden Songaufbau, Vielfalt und Eigenständigkeit aus, die vor allem zum Träumen, Abschalten und Versinken geeignet ist. Zum Entspannen mag das Album ja ganz gut sein, aber ein bisschen mehr Metal und vor allem Gesang hätte dem Album schon gut getan. „Wijde Wijdte“ klingt einfach wie ein spaciger, epischer Soundtrack, was zwar cool ist und auch schon zu hören, aber eben auch nicht aus den Socken haut.

Rating: 6.5/10

Reviewed by: Daniel Müller

Review from ZWareMetalen

Tue, 01 Jan 2019 17:43:48 +0100

From: ZWareMetalen

Published: December 30, 2018

Original Link

Bij een naam als Omgeving denken velen onder ons wellicht dat het hier om een soort van ambientproject zal gaan. Niets van dat. Omgeving is een Nederlands project dat – ik neem het even over uit de promo – ‘crosses the boundaries of black metal, space rock, ambient, and doom’. Spek voor de bek van mezelf. De man achter dit project is Franck Johanson (Distillator), die normaal thrash uitbraakt. Als dat maar goed afloopt, denk je dan.

In het geval van Omgeving loopt het zeker goed af. Het is geen zoveelste – ik doe maar wat met mijn vrije tijd, vooral het kopiëren van bestaande dingen op mijn eigen maniertje – project, deze man steekt zijn nek uit met nummers die allen een vrij uitgesproken karakter hebben. De variatie is relatief hoog, toch voor een zo goed als integraal instrumentaal geheel dat op sfeer drijft en vooral doomblack geaard is.

De basgitaar is duidelijk aanwezig, je hoort een voorliefde voor het instrument. Door de vele diepe klanken klinkt de omgevingssound vooral troebel, mistig en kosmisch/spacey, zodat de dreunende doom(jazz) uiteindelijk de bovenhand krijgt. De schurende gitaren verraden een depriblack (Lifelover en fluctuerende Xasthurtonen) en progressieve Noorse black metal affiniteit (genre Ulver dan toch). De rituele en ceremoniële cadansen doen denken aan industriële geluidsartiesten. Alles samengevat krijg je een Wijde Wijdte, die zowel diep als breed gaat. Past mooi in de rij Hypnotic Dirge releases, naast bijvoorbeeld een Netra.

Rating: 79/100

Reviewed by: Bart Al Foet