Music has its own way of bringing perspective to the different facets of life: to give them not only an outlet, but also to allow for all to come together, bringing some type of solace and relief. Doodseskader combining in one, pouring their life experiences into the music, hitting the listener hard, connecting with the audience and delivering perfection. The softness of the pastel colours meet the brutal sound of their music and the lethal delivery of their honest lyrics, transforming the rage and hurt into something unique. Get ready to be immersed in Year Two.

Doodseskader (“Death Squad” in Dutch), hailing from Belgium using the number 45 as their banner, is formed by Tim De Gieter (Amenra, Every Stranger Looks Like You) and Sigfried Burroughs (Kapitan Korsakov, The K).They first released their EP back in December 2020 called MMXX : Year Zero, which had a Sludge and HipHop sound with devastating lyrics. This has been present in the singles delivered after this EP: “Gabos” / “Nonstop” and “Still Haven’t Killed Myself” which were just a taste before the release of their album Year One. In true Doodseskader fashion, they released “FLF” and “Who Will Pour The Blood On Me” / “Bathroom” before unleashing Year Two onto the world. They have relentlessly pushed genre boundaries, making it hard to put them into a category thus making them even more interesting and refreshing.

With Year Two they keep pushing the envelope with the amazing cover art by Meggie Van Zwieten. This album has nine beautiful and yet devastating tracks. It starts with “Pastel Prison” which was the second and last single released for this album, a song about longing, loneliness and rejection; the softness of the basslines and echoing backing vocals creating this warm and evolving feeling just before the song abruptly changes to a heavier, more enraged tone with screaming vocals, allowing you to feel exactly that - anger and frustration. After this, it turns into a moment of calm sounding almost hauntingly: “I saw you in my dream tonight” is being sung until the very end of the song. Next is “The Sheer Horror Of The Human Condition” and it starts with a whispering voice and proceeds further unto a mind blowing mix of heavy bass lines, sequencers and drums. The mixing of genres in this track is really miraculous; the brutal lyrics, distorting the voice going into an increased intensity, bringing an electronic, industrial, pounding sound. The sound of “Innocence (An Offering)” seems like the continuation of the previous track’s sound. The downpour of emotion and rage is what I find fantastic about Doodseskader’s music. My favourite track is the next one, “Bone Pipe”. It delivers a rap-styled and nearly deadly line at the start: “Tell me has my suffering satisfied your thirst?” and this just sets the tone for the whole song. Another line here is “This could be my curse or my remedy” and this is something that strikes a chord, as it’s something we can all definitely relate to at some point. “Future Perfect (A Promise)” is a song that sets for a softer, more relaxed tone, with the piano and the mellow drums. Another favourite track on this album is “Secrets Make Lonely”. The sadness and bleak outlook is palpably present in this song, with lyrics and music that hit hard like a punch to the stomach. “I Ask With My Mouth, I’ll Take With My Fists” was the first single and video released for this album back in January and it perfectly encapsulates what Doodseskader are all about. And Year Two comes to a perfect conclusion with “People Have Poisoned My Mind To A Point Where I Can No Longer Function”, which sounds like the background music to the end of it all - harsh and much like having your fists closed and ready to go out swinging, even if it destroys you.

Year Two proves what Doodseskader are made for: they make music that sounds so brutal and intense, it makes you feel comfort and provides the type of rage that needs to come out lest it will consume you from the inside. Their amazing mix of Sludge, Metalcore, HipHop, Punk, Grunge and Industrial is just getting weirder, keeping things very interesting and different.