Dutch blackgaze band Noctambulist has signed with These Hands Melt for the release of their second full-length album, Noctambulist II: De Droom, due 7th February 2025 in CD, vinyl and digital formats.
An atmospheric post-black metal outfit from Tilburg, the Netherlands, Noctambulist was formed in 2015 between housemates J.D. Kaye (Vocals/guitar, Sam C.A. (Bass)and Mitchell Scheerder (Drums). They set out to create a hard-hitting, melancholic style of black metal that drew inspiration from other genres such as post-rock, shoegaze, new wave and post-punk.
Noctambulist stand for contrasts: Serotonin summits and strung-out canyons, the empty and the grandiose, the beautiful and the appalling.
After defining their sound and completing the lineup with guitarists Tristan Tabbers and Stef Heesakkers they released their full-length debut Noctambulist I: Elegieën via Northern Silence Productions.
A while back in 2024, they released the single ‘Aderlater‘, followed it with ‘Lichteter’ and now in 2025 offer their fans ‘Gevoelsmens’ – And they’re available to stream via all streaming platforms here, while you can check out the video for the latter two here at RAMzine.
“‘Gevoelsmens’ is a song about nostalgia and living in the past. It invokes the fear of being past one’s prime while at the same time maintaining some hopeful optimism,” explained the band.
Whereas for ‘Lichteter’ they said: “Lyrically the song explores the desire for a stable albeit mediocre future only to discover the present has fallen apart in the meantime. It is emblematic of the themes found on much of the songs throughout the album. It falls in a comfortable transition between the harsher tones found on Elegieën and the experimental nature of De Droom.”
“We wrote the track ‘Aderlater’ with the full band after J.D. and Stef came up with some chords that went nowhere,” they said of that single. “We were all listening to a lot of post-punk and new wave and most of us attended concerts by The Cure around the time.”
“If I recall correctly Mitch came up with the intro drum pattern and we changed the 6/8 we had to a 4/4 beat and wrote basically the entire song on the spot. The lead in the chorus came from Tristan from another old composition we never finished. It all fell into place, so to speak.”“Lyrically the song deals with laying bare uncomfortable and personal feelings for the sake of music. It is, in a way, an ode to insecurity.”
