FLUISTERAARS – Jacht der Mysteriën
Release Date: 11th September 2026
Label: Eisenwald
Bandcamp
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
FFO: Paysage d’Hiver, Drudkh, Turia, Sunn O))), Burzum
Review By: Magnus Rotås
With cover art like this, an album either has to be terrible or really good. It looks like something your kid comes home with from school, leaving you wondering what exactly they have seen—or experienced—to inspire such an image. The Dutch atmospheric Black Metal band Fluisteraars have never been particularly afraid of taking risks, whether that is with their music or their artwork, and Jacht der Mysteriën certainly continues that tradition.
Fluisteraars have built up a fairly interesting discography since their formation. Their debut, Dromers, was already a strong statement and remains perhaps their most accessible record, with stronger melodies, more immediately memorable riffs, and a greater emphasis on traditional Black Metal songwriting. As the band progressed, however, they gradually moved further away from those conventional structures and towards something much more atmospheric, experimental, and difficult to pin down.
I would argue that they reached their creative peak with 2020s Bloem. Even the artwork seemed to announce that the band were entering a completely different phase. Its provocative use of bright colours and flowers was almost comically at odds with the stereotypically cold and bleak imagery associated with Black Metal. More importantly, the music followed suit. Bloem was surprisingly colourful and, at times, almost “happy” sounding, while still firmly retaining Black Metal as its foundation. It was an unusual combination, but one that worked remarkably well. The record demonstrated that Fluisteraars could take the basic ingredients of Black Metal and reshape them into something much more vibrant without losing the genre’s identity.
Jacht der Mysteriën takes yet another step away from that approach.
The album consists of only three tracks, clocking in at roughly 13, 11, and 19 minutes respectively. That should give you a pretty good idea of what kind of listening experience this is. These are not songs built around conventional verse/chorus structures, nor are they particularly interested in constantly introducing new ideas. Instead, Fluisteraars lean heavily into repetition, long-form compositions, and gradual development.
The riffs are often repeated for several minutes at a time, creating a hypnotic and almost trance-like effect. There is a clear similarity to drone music here, where the interest comes less from what changes and more from the subtle ways in which something that initially appears static slowly evolves. Key changes and major shifts can be surprisingly infrequent—at times approaching the sort of patience associated with a band like Sunn O))). The comparison to Burzum’s Filosofem also comes to mind, particularly in the way repetition can transform a relatively simple musical idea into something atmospheric and immersive through sheer duration.
In theory, I have no problem with this approach, heck Filosofem is one of my all time favorite albums. Repetition can be extremely effective in Black Metal, particularly when the goal is to create a hypnotic atmosphere rather than deliver memorable songwriting. A riff does not necessarily need to develop constantly if the repetition itself is the point. The problem is that this technique places an enormous amount of pressure on the underlying material. If the riff is sufficiently compelling, repeating it for ten minutes can feel transcendent. If it isn’t, you are simply listening to the same riff for ten minutes.
Unfortunately, Jacht der Mysteriën falls closer to the latter camp for me.
The album isn’t bad, and there are certainly moments where Fluisteraars manage to create the kind of immersive atmosphere they are clearly aiming for. The production and performances are appropriate for this style, and there is a genuine sense that the band are trying to push themselves somewhere new rather than simply repeating what worked on previous records. I can appreciate that ambition. However, I don’t think the material itself is consistently strong enough to justify the enormous lengths of these compositions.
There are essentially three extended experiments here, and while two of them are fairly decent, neither completely convinced me. The third track in particular is one of the weaker pieces Fluisteraars have released, and when an album only contains three songs, having one of those three feel underwhelming becomes a pretty significant problem.
This is ultimately where Jacht der Mysteriën loses me. I can appreciate what Fluisteraars are attempting, but I don’t find the payoff particularly satisfying. The repetition doesn’t gradually reveal enough new details to keep me invested, and the riffs aren’t consistently memorable enough for me to enjoy simply sitting with them for ten or fifteen minutes. There is a difference between music that is intentionally repetitive and music that feels repetitive, and unfortunately this album occasionally crosses that line.
That is a shame because I think Fluisteraars have already demonstrated that they are capable of something much more interesting. Bloem in particular showed that the band had found a genuinely unique territory where psychedelic, colourful and almost uplifting sounds could coexist with Black Metal. Rather than abandoning that direction completely, I would personally have preferred to see them explore it further. There was so much potential in that sound, and it feels like Jacht der Mysteriën moves in almost the opposite direction.
For me, though, the experience is simply too lukewarm.
Fluisteraars are a band with plenty of creativity and a willingness to experiment, and I would much rather listen to a band take an interesting risk and occasionally miss than one that plays it safe every time. Jacht der Mysteriën is certainly an interesting risk. I just don’t think it pays off nearly as well as some of their previous experiments.
Two mid-tier tracks and one of their lesser tracks to date make for a difficult album to recommend, especially when the individual songs are so long. There are some good ideas here, but for most listeners, I suspect that hearing essentially the same riff repeated for ten minutes will require more patience than the material itself warrants.
(3 / 5)
