DOODSWENS – SELF TITLED
First impressions – I.’s vocals are brutal, emotional and feel like grating along pavement. Upon my first listen I felt like it wasn’t an album that flows from start to finish but more of a collection of songs, until I got more familiar with it and realized it does have a certain Black Metal flow to it. I also thought it was difficult to unpack on the first listen, and that made me want to go back again. The initial standout track for me was “These Wounds Never Healed.”
I first came across Doodswens in 2024 when they opened for Marduk and Origin. I listened to their album Lichtvrees and liked it, but I didn’t become a big fan until after seeing them live. It was a ritual-like performance, more emotional and thought provoking than any other band I’ve ever seen. At first, I. comes out and lights the candle at the front of the stage, where it remains for the entire performance. Then they proceed to unleash hell upon the audience. Seeing them and learning that she drums and sings these insane vocals at the same time was hypnotizing, and I’ve been a fan ever since.
Doodswens takes things up a notch on this self-titled release. It takes listeners through a series of dark and aggressive Black Metal songs in a vein that is quite close to second generation Black Metal. This is not an album for the faint of heart, with lyrical themes about summoning Satan, grief, pain and death. Through I.’s vocals you can really hear the pain and suffering that is in the music.
It’s not really an album where individual instruments stand out and wow you with flashy playing, but everything is crafted in a way that is appropriate to the music. It’s more about the atmosphere the songs put you in and playing to that mood. Between the harsh, throat-ripping vocals, tremolo guitar and bass work, and the constantly pummeling drums, the album can be interpreted as the fear of death, or the comfort of it, depending on your perspective.
There’s a cool guitar string-scraping effect in “Driven by Death” that stood out to me as some variety in the playing. My favorite track is “These Wounds Never Healed.” Being the longest tune on the album, it feels like the most epic and immersive song here, putting you into that grim atmosphere for the longest time. I also enjoyed the higher tremolo-picked guitar lines. It’s quite common in Black Metal to hear that style lower on the fretboard, but this sounds higher up the neck, which gives it a slightly different character. The insane high-pitched screams in “Driven by Death” really put you in a dark place.
Another highlight for me is the song “Devil’s Stone.” It’s a small moment, but I. screaming “the devil’s stone” at the beginning of the song gets me every time I hear it. I also liked how “Vlaamse Vloek” has a fade-out that tells the listener it’s the end of the album. Overall, the production on the Doodswens album is strong, but not so polished that it guides your ear too much toward any one thing. There’s still enough room for interpretation to let the listener focus on what they want to focus on.
Artwork – I remember when I saw Doodswens live, I wanted to get that perfect picture of I. lighting the candle and looking sacrificial in the bloody corpse paint. This picture is the album artwork. I’m looking forward to wearing it on the pre-ordered merch I picked up from their Bandcamp page.
As the feedback fades, Doodswens’ self-titled album stands as a grim Black Metal masterpiece. It really draws attention to I. as the central focus of the music, which makes sense as she plays the most instruments in the band. I’m looking forward to seeing them play this material live at some point because it’s very immersive, and their ritual-like performance was really enticing. Experiencing the new material in that setting is something I’ll definitely be looking forward to. Doodswens’ self-titled album will probably make my top albums of 2026. The more I listen to it, the more I like it.