Welkin - The Origin
Shiver Records

file under Death metal

Menno: It seems to me that Belgium is a somewhat underrated metal country. This is quite understandable, considering the fact that not many Belgian bands managed to gather international fame. For the last couple of years the Belgian scene is trying to pull this straight with strong bands like Aborted and Leng Tch'e. A new rising star in this profession might be the band Welkin.

A new rising star might be an inappropriate term, since the band has been operating since 1997. The final breakthrough has never occurred though; maybe their new record 'The Origin' will help the band to change this. The fact that the band has a decent amount of experience can be heard back on this release; it fits the Aborted/Leng Tch'e generation perfectly and therefore it's not very surprising to hear Sven screaming a note here and there. As mentioned the music is pretty similar to that of their Flemish brothers but Welkin is a tad less melody-oriented; something I'm not at all unenthusiastic about. Boxing bands up in genres isn't too valuable to me but in this case I dare using the term New Wave of Belgian Death Metal. The production is very reasonable although the guitars sound a bit mushy and while you're at it, check out the funny animation clip on their MySpace.


Rating: 78/100 (details)

http://www.welkin.be

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