Release Date April 17th, 2026
Format CD/LP/Digital
Genre Black Metal
Origin Netherlands
Doodswens began in the Dutch underground in 2017 and built its reputation through intense live performances and relentless touring. Led by I., who handles drums and vocals simultaneously on stage, the band gained attention through appearances with acts like Marduk and Gorgoroth, bringing their bleak and confrontational style far beyond the Netherlands. Their approach is rooted in old black metal spirit, stripped of comfort and coated in raw emotional exposure. With R. on bass and P. on guitar, Doodswens operates with a cold and severe mentality where pain, obsession and survival stand at the center of everything.
"Doodswens" drags the listener through themes of suicidal thoughts, spiritual collapse and emotional ruin without turning into self-indulgent misery. The album storms with hostility and desperation, though underneath the aggression there is also determination and survival instinct. The old Norwegian influence is obvious in the riffing and atmosphere, and a violent pulse running through these songs, mixed with moments that almost sound mournful, giving the material a human side beneath the filth and fire.
The production leaves enough roughness intact as the guitars scrape and burn, the bass adds an ugly low end and the drumming sounds exhausting in the best possible way. I.’s vocal performance deserves serious respect considering the physical challenge behind it. Her voice tears through the songs with bitterness, exhaustion and fury, giving the material a believable emotional core. Doodswens chooses instinct over perfection, and that decision gives the album far more impact.
What separates "Doodswens" from many newer black metal acts is its emotional honesty. The darkness inside the songs doesn’t come across as fantasy or aesthetics for image-building. There is pain here, frustration, isolation and self-destruction staring directly into the listener’s face. At the same time, the album avoids becoming hopeless because there is also resistance buried underneath all the suffering. That balance gives the material depth beyond the usual satanic clichés and corpse-painted posturing.
"Doodswens" is a fierce and emotionally draining black metal album that stays true to the genre’s cold roots while injecting real psychological torment into the experience. The songwriting remains focused, the atmosphere is suffocating and the performances leave scars long after the album ends. It may not reach the level of the absolute elite within modern black metal, though it absolutely proves that Doodswens belongs among the more serious and emotionally charged acts emerging from Europe’s underground.
| 8.0
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