THE BEAST

Today, Dutch black metal elite  Iskandr  stream the entirety of their brand-new EP,  Gelderse Poort , at heavily trafficked web-portal   InvisibleOranges.com . Set for North American release on October 23rd via  Eisenwald   set October 23rd on 12” vinyl format (including CD listening copy), hear   Iskandr 's  Gelderse Poort  in its entirety exclusively   HERE .

Iskandr   began its quest into the hinterlands of the imagination and subconscious with the debut album  Heilig land  in 2016, initially released on extremely limited-edition cassette but then making its way onto other formats as time went on. Despite  Heilig land  being the band’s first recording,   Iskandr   possessed no small amount of experience: mainman O hailed from (and still plays guitar in)   Turia , among others. While no doubt bearing his sterling standards of quality,   Iskandr   soon took on an immediately more epic quality compared to   Turia   and served as another crucial piece to the Netherlands’ unceasingly vibrant black metal scene of today.

The  Zon  EP followed not longer after   Iskandr 's debut album, but it was 2018 when the band released its breakout record,  Euprosopon , courtesy of   Eisenwald   for the CD and vinyl versions (the tape was released by the band’s own Haeresis Noviomagi label, who will also release a luxurious tape edition of  Gelderse Poort ). Widescreen and grand as it comes, totaling four tracks in exactly 44 minutes and 44 seconds,  Euprosopon  displayed boundless vision and a vibrancy to black metal’s core ethos without categorically being shackled to them. And while not strictly "positive" in tone and texture, here did  Iskandr  portray a uniquely progressive aspect that allowed fuller freedom for the listener to roam.

And   Iskandr   continues to roam, wider and wistfully, with the epic new EP  Gelderse Poort . Comprising two tracks for a total of 24 minutes,  Gelderse Poort  is a thematically unified release, offering yet more depth to the already-deep  Iskandr   aesthetic. The EP’s title track was recorded during the  Euprosopon  sessions and deal with O’s home region and both the spiritual connection and distance to one's place of origin. The "Gelderse Poort" is a literal name for the region where the Rhine enters the Netherlands from Germany, since it is on this border that the river cuts a path through two elevated areas and, as such, resembles a sort of "gate" into the Netherlands. As O explains, "I take this 'gate' as a more symbolic entity, a metaphorical entryway into or exit from one's home – that moment whenever you feel like 'Ah, I'm back again!' or the other way around, 'Damn, I feel very far removed from home right now.'" Fittingly, the title track spans a wealth of sonic terrain, from spacious ‘n’ pastoral to the searingly violent, but all with   Iskandr 's characteristically deft and dynamic touch.

"Het Graf," the second track, features a spoken rendition of a part of the poem "het Graf" (English: "The Grave") by Dutch writer Rhijnvis Feith, spoken by O’s father. Even moodier than  Gelderse Poort ’s title track, dipping into eerily quiet passages brimming with beauty and tension alike, the song fittingly deals with death, the finitude of life, and youth vs. old age. "It was very significant to have my dad on the record since all   Iskandr   material is pretty personal in nature," O enthuses, "and having him recite a poem dealing with these existential themes is a very meaningful addition to my discography, I feel."

Meaningful, and essential:   Iskandr 's discography may be sparse still, but the band’s vision continues to be breathtaking. Set sail for splendor and wonder with  Gelderse Poort !

Fully set sail exclusively here https://www.invisibleoranges.com/iskandr-gelderse-poort-stream-interview/

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Iskandr's  Gelderse Poort
1. Gelderse Poort [11:59]
2. Het Graf [11:54]


MORE INFO:
www.iskandr.bandcamp.com