Structure - Heritage
-
STRUCTURE – HERITAGE LABEL: ARDUA MUSIC RELEASE DATE: APRIL 25th 2025
In the moments of silence, when we have slipped from rooms and the gaze and demands of others, we can wander through all that has been, hold the precious, present moment in our hands and weigh both our delights and despair with reasoned measure.
“Heritage is about family, history and all that makes us who we are. It is about loss, hope and all the emotions that fuel us on an everyday basis. It is a very personal album about what we become in life through our Heritage and experiences. The pictures on the artwork are from my personal family photo albums which I received after my grandfather died.”
- Bram BijlhoutBram Bijlhout is Structure. Structure has provided the Dutch multi-instrumentalist, who spent seven years in the ranks of Officium Triste, with a framework for his creative energies since 2021. Bram’s former Officium Triste colleague, Pim Blankenstein, has contributed his powerful vocals to Structure since the beginning, with drummer Dirk Bruinenberg (Elegy) and additional vocalist Robert Soeterboek (Ayreon, Plan 9) also bringing their talents to bear on the incredible work that is Heritage…
Heritage begins with the stunning ‘Will I Deserve It’, the sound rising like a pale winter sun, its cold, grey light creeping slowly across a landscape wreathed in mist and rimed with frost. As the song begins to march across this chill vista it is immediately apparent that Structure are not just another doom/death metal band. There is beauty and doubt, hope and melancholy, even joy as a wonderful guitar solo takes flight. This is not a simple outpouring of despair – it is more nuanced, more complex…more real. While the crushing weight of grief is brought to bear in ‘What We Have Lost’, it is handled deftly and poignantly. The gentle touch of keys is heard behind the monolithic chords and desolate vocalisations; we experience the differing shades of sorrow, the intricacies of the emotional palette. Overblown gothic grandeur is cast aside for real feeling and dignity and the results are absolutely immense. ‘The Sadness Of Everyday Life’ captures the hours when the shadows are too deep and your back bows beneath the weight of accumulated sorrows, while the breadth and depth of ‘Heritage’ itself seems to work as a poetic consolation – acknowledging the dark times but insisting that they are but a part of something so much greater, that we are more than just the sum of our sadnesses. When all the towering riffs and heart lifting solos fall silent, when the masterful drumming and impassioned vocals have ended, as the final instrumental ‘Until The Last Gasp’ offers a summation of the journey experienced and a quiet defiance all its own, Heritage leaves you with a sense of completion, a lingering wonder and an understanding that there is beauty in the darkness as well as in the light.
Mastered by Dool bassist J.B. Van Der Wal (Celestial Sanctuary, Entrapment etc) Heritage possesses the perfect sound to highlight every emotive detail that is woven into its breathtaking songs. The weight of meaning in every note, word and beat is stunning. Adorned in photos from Bram’s personal family collection the sense of time, individual history and the entwining of internal and external life and influence speaks from the images. A truly special album, Heritage has found the most apt home with Ardua Music, whose reputation in the field of melodic, melancholic, heavyweight music is unparalleled. Ardua will unveil the splendour of Heritage on April 25th and no thoughtful heart or reflective soul will be left untouched, unmoved.
Genre: Atmospheric Doom/Death Metal
For fans of: Officium Triste | Novembers Doom | October Tide | My Silent Wake Line-up:
Bram Bijlhout - Guitars/Bass/Keyboards
Pim Blankenstein - Vocals
Dirk Bruinenberg - Drums
Robert Soeterboek - Additional Vocals
All music and lyrics written by Bram Bijlhout
ARTIST LINKS »
LABEL LINKS »
