VANDERBUYST – ‘In Dutch’ (Ván Records)
Vanderbuyst are a good ol’ fashioned power-trio with Willem Verbuyst handling the guitars, Jochem Jonkman on bass and vocals and Barry van Esbroek behind the drum kit. When I belatedly covered their self-titled debut I was blissfully unaware that the Dutch band were at the time already working on its follow-up.
Musically Vanderbuyst stay pretty faithfully to their traditional Seventies roots, almost more rock ‘n’ blues than metal (if you care for such distinctions), and the fact that the backing tracks were recorded live with no overdubs adds to the old-school atmosphere: if you’re looking for an overtly glossy album, overdubbed to death and full of whizzy state-of the-art effects, then this is not an album for you. ‘In Dutch’ – the title refers to the fact that, lyrically, each track talks about being either in trouble or in the dog house which apparently is known as being ‘in Dutch’ – is three guys cutting loose and playing from the heart – no gimmicks, no studio trickery, just metal as it’s meant to be played, and vaguely reminiscent of Praying Mantis’s debut album
all those years ago. In fact, the live-in-the-studio approach adds a nice NWOBHM feel to proceedings, and, as a bonus, when Verbuyst switches from rhythm to lead Jonkman and van Esbroek have nowhere to hide and have plenty of space to work the song under the solo. Nice!
The songs are short and sweet (all eight tracks are done and dusted within 36 minutes), punchy and memorable, and come with more hooks than an anglers’ convention. Personal favourites are the tone-setting finger-twisting opener ‘Black And Blue’ and the aggressive ‘Leaving The Living’ in which Verbuyst’s old bandmate from Powervice, Selim Lemouchi (now fronting The Devil’s Blood), puts in an appearance with a nifty bit of lead work (and check out the Blackmore-esque solo that brings the song to its conclusion). Oh yes, and the album plays out with ‘Where’s That Devil’, a down and dirty blues piece which shows the band in a different light and, as the band’s biog points out, really makes you feel sorry for the guy standing at the crossroads waiting for the Devil to take his soul. But then, that’s rock ‘n’ roll…
© John Tucker January 2012