adg211288 Formed in 2014 and releasing their debut album De doden hebben het goed (2015) (The dead are doing well) a year later, Wiegedood (meaning Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) are still a relatively new entry on the atmospheric black metal scene. Hailing from Belgium and consisting of a three-piece line-up that includes two members of Oathbreaker, De doden hebben het goed II (2017) is, as you may have guessed from the title, their second album and a direct counterpart to their debut.

Structured in a very similar fashion to their debut as a four track atmospheric black metal album, De doden hebben het goed II is a relatively short jaunt, lasting only about thirty-three minutes. The individual tracks run for a mid to reasonable long length each, the shortest being finale Smeekbede at 6:13 and the longest being second track Cataract at 11:11. The band's style is considerably more standardised atmospheric black metal fare compared to what guitarist Gilles Demolder and drummer Wim Sreppoc play in their other band Oathbreaker (at least from their latest album Rheia (2016), as their used to be more hardcore/crust punk based), but they and frontman Levy Seynaeve (bass in atmospheric sludge metal act Amenra) nevertheless impress well enough with their take on the genre. The record is not groundbreaking but they produce a solid effort, especially on the first two of the four tracks, Ontzielling and Cataract. The trio obviously know their stuff.

The trouble with the record is that after the first impressions have worn off it's all too easy to realise that other than being 'very well done' it doesn't actually have all that much going for it as an album. That no doubt seems a contradiction but allow me to explain: It is well done, but it's also a rather generic atmospheric black metal release. It's the kind of album that's easy to enjoy if you are a fan of the genre but if your interest is of a more casual nature then it's easy for me to hear how De doden hebben het goed II could come across as being 'just another album' from a scene that is, let's be fair, rather crowded with artists.

It might help the album's case if Levy Seynaeve's blackened screams weren't of the completely indiscernible kind so there were some lyrical references to hook onto which may have made it easier to recall which track was which, because give me a half hour after the album has finished playing and the only thing I can say was definitely a part of a certain song is the final drawn out scream in Smeekbede that brings the album to a close and I'm actually unsure if that's because it is the last moment on the album so freshest in my head or if it's because that last scream actually sounds a bit ridiculous.

The point is that in any genre it's all well and good being able to craft music that fits the industry standard and even do it well, as De doden hebben het goed II actually does for most of the album. Wiegedood certainly display stronger musicianship and professionalism in their recording than the majority of newer black metal acts. But an artist needs that extra something to make them really stand out and based on the evidence presented here I do not believe that Wiegedood have found that yet.