Hemelbestormer

Hemelbestormer are a Belgian instrumental four-piece whose sound falls somewhere between sludge, doom metal, and epic post-rock. They comprise Jo Driesmans (guitars), Filip Dupont (ex-Gorath, guitars/synth/samples), Kevin Hensels (bass/visuals), and Fréderik Cosemans (of Death Penalty and SerpentCult, drums/synths/samples). Their slow, heavy soundscapes take listeners on a journey through senses and emotions, and are intended as a "portal to the universe." The group formed in 2012, and were first heard collaborating with similarly minded Italian group Vanessa Van Basten on a split-CD released by ConSouling Sounds in 2014. The following year, Hemelbestormer's contributions to the split release were edited together as a 22-minute suite, backed with new composition "Portal III" and released as Portals, first on cassette by Tartarus Records and then on LP by Sick Man Getting Sick Records. The group then signed to Debemur Morti Productions, which released Aether in February of 2016. ~ Paul Simpson