Reviews:

From Vital Weekly: (by NM)

  NDE is a Belgian project that belongs to the darkest spheres of electronic music. The artwork of the cover is pure grey-tone colors without any warmth or happiness. There are no sign of contact details or reference to information sources on the cover to the band. Furthermore the band has no myspace or website, leaving the band in the deep underground. In that sense the surroundings nicely fit the musical containment of present release titled "Krieg blut ehre asche" (In English: War blood honour ashes). The album is the debut from NDE and a very nice one indeed! Eight pieces of sonic brutality is what you get here. Deep rumbling drones of power electronics moves along screeching harsh noise and martial percussions meanwhile the vocal side consists of evil screams and guttural expressions with much reference to the black metal-scene. To strengthen the dark atmosphere samples of distant voices and subtle orchestration leaves the listener cold and isolated. A very interesting work appealing to listeners of darkest electronics. Pure evil!... Three great new exercises in extreme aggression from British essential label Cold Spring. (NM)

From Obliveon: (by MK)

  Das einzige was über NDE bekannt ist, ist ihr Herkunftsland Belgien. Es gibt keine Homepage, keine Mysapce-Seite und auch sonst gibt das Internet nichts an Informationen her. Was bleibt ist das Debüt „Krieg Blut Ehre Asche“ und die acht Tracks dieses Albums, das in seiner Mixtur aus misanthropischem Black Metal und Death Industrial-Elementen recht selten ist und ausser emotionaler Kälte keinen Raum für Gefühlsduseleien lässt. Der Kreischgesang ist fast bis zur Unkenntlichkeit verzerrt und der Sound des Albums ist roh und ungeschliffen, selbst in den Industrial-Elementen, nimmt dadurch aber ein wenig von der Brutalität des Albums. Interessant sind neben (extrem verzerrten) sakralen Einflüssen vor allem die Martial Drum-Elemente, die sich immer wieder ihren Weg durch das Klanggemisch bahnen und in der Tat ein Novum in diesem Bereich darstellen. Vor diesem Hintergrund sind NDE fraglos eine Bereicherung für Fans extremer Klänge, sowohl der Black Metal- wie auch der Industrial-Szene.

From Terrorizer & Judas Kiss: (by Simon Collins)

  Krieg Blut Ehre Asche (das ist ‘War Blood Honour Ashes’ in Englisch!) is the debut release from a NDE, a Belgian duo who are too kvlt to have anything so vulgar as a website or MySpace page (the address given below is a fan page), or even to divulge their identities – they’re known only as K and B. NDE presumably stands for Near-Death Experience, though it could equally well be Nose-Draining Equipment for all I know. The cover art isn’t giving much away either – gloomy monochrome images of a ghostly robed and cowled monk standing amongst crumbling stone ruins overlaid with some cryptic inscribed texts, but nothing in the way of recording info, or even any track titles – it’s simply Krieg Blut Ehre Asche Parts I-VII, and that’s your lot.

  So with the idle chit-chat over, all that’s left is to listen to the album, and that turns out to be an intensely harrowing 38-minute excursion into the stygian bowels of some of the darkest death industrial / black metal crossover material you’ll ever hear. Part I opens with a sonorous barrage of drums, resonating through the void like the doors of Hell slamming shut behind you, picking up momentum into a regular, monotonous beat behind dreary, ritualistic chanting and eardrum-shredding blackened growls for a couple of minutes, before exploding around the four-minute mark into fearsomely raw, necro black metal, something like early Darkthrone, with the incessant jackhammer beats and hideous production values that go with the territory. Anyone who’s into extremist, outsider black metal acts such as Striborg, Emit or Leviathan will lap this evilness up – others may well shrink from it in terror. Part II shifts back into death industrial mode, with huge compressed beats detonating behind doomy metallic clangs like the weaponry forges of the Uruk-Hai, more multi-tracked, tortured vocals, and buzzing, corrosive atmospherics, terminating in a malevolent melodic flourish, before Part III delivers a hideous toxic amalgam of distorted black metal guitars, a surging, gothic keyboard line and hard industrial beats. This combination in particular reminds me of Antipodean antichrist Nekrasov, or some of Nordvargr’s output under the Vargr project banner.

  Part IV dispenses with metal guitars in favour of multiple layers of waling vocals and militant beats, but the album reaches its high point, or low point if you prefer, on Parts V and VI, as eerie gothic keyboards, thunderous orchestrations and soaring soprano choral chants are ripped into by vocals as vicious and snarling as a pack of starving wolves and a fast, tinny programmed beat. There’s a little more space to breathe on these tracks, they’re more melodic and not quite as frenetically noisy as the earlier part of the album, but they carry a huge payload of poisonous potency, especially Part V. Krieg Blut Ehre Asche delivers its coup de grace with Part VII, which features the album’s most intolerably incessant programmed beat amid rusty blood-spattered shards of feedback and more of those possessed vocals, ending with a confused cacophony of howls and screams. After that, there’s an uncredited eighth track, which reverts back to a more or less straightforward necro black metal template.

  It should be obvious from the above that only hardened veterans of musical extremity should go anywhere near NDE, but paradoxically for such an awesomely harsh release, NDE possess considerable crossover appeal, operating as they do at the intersection of black metal, death industrial, noise and even a hint of martial industrial, although anyone who can’t at least tolerate really nasty, raw black metal is going to find this album a really daunting proposition. And whilst there are some really dark, morbid atmospheres on Krieg Blut Ehre Asche, it’s just too frenetic and noisy to really pass for dark ambient – I mention this because it’s possible that the cover art might deceive some into thinking that this is a dark ambient release. Those looking for some really cutting-edge extreme music as we enter the second decade of the 21 century, though, won’t go far wrong with NDE.

From Chain D.L.K.: (by Maurizio Pustianaz)

  NDE are a mysterious duo coming from Belgium. There's no information available about them, the only thing we have are the eight parts of their debut album KRIEG BLUT EHRE ASCHE (it means something like "The blood of war ashes glory"). Musically NDE blend the most extreme musical genres creating a monster who sounds now black metal/industrial noise and then noise martial industrial. Within ton of noise you'll hear epic melodies and clanging swords while the drums of hell are beating loud. NDE succeeded into creating something I wasn't waiting for and I liked that. The first time you'll listen to KRIEG BLUT EHRE ASCHE you won't really understand what the music is about and I think that this was what the duo was looking for: a destabilization of the listener in search for the de-construction of genres. They mixed the low-fi approach of black metal to the power percussion-ism of martial industrial adding feedbacks and despair. I may say that they invented a new genre, where there are no boundaries, by filtering nowadays extreme music and without, somewhat, forgetting a bit of melody.

From Side-Line: (by DP)

 NDE seems to be a brand new Belgian duo. There’s no real information available about this band and no internet site or profile can be found. NDE could eventually stand for Near Death Experience, but nothing seems to be sure here. Musical wise “Krieg Blut Ehre Asche” is an extreme piece of music where mainly experimental and doom-metal influences have been united. The tracks remain untitled, being simply numbered from 1 to 8. NDE opens a gate to tormenting outbursts where a metal-doom aspect rules over a terrifying soundscpace. Reinforced by enraged screams some parts are a bit reminding me of Brighter Death Now. There’s no similar noise atmosphere getting numerous ritual chants instead. It creates a devilish impression, which perfectly fits to the lonely figure (dressed like a monk) on the front cover of the album. There’s for sure a little ritual element running through this album as well. NDE is a particular experience mixing opposite elements with each other. Are we assisting to a sonic exorcism? It remains a total enigma that will be consumed by a small legion of followers! “Krieg Blut Ehre Asche” sounds like one of the most complex and minimal releases from Cold Spring in years!

From Filthforge: (by Simon V.)

  When in 1995 Mz.412 released their legendary "In Nomine Dei Nostri Satanas Luciferi Excelsi", they opened the doors to the encounter of two worlds that had lived strictly separated until then: industrial, intended in the most general meaning of the word, and black metal, in particular of Scandinavian breed. From that moment on, there have been hundreds of extreme metal bands that copiously drew from the dark ambient, death industrial and noise wells of Cold Meat Industry school, until the final consequences incarnated by the here present NDE. Nothing is known about these characters, who debut on Cold Spring with "Krieg Blut Ehre Asche", a truly programmatic title.
The CD's eight tracks mix with confidence Mz.412, Megaptera, and the grimmest and most repugnant black metal, achieving walls of decibels and noise that are a hard challenge for the listener's poor ears. The industrial parts are outstanding, with sheet metal bashing and pitch black soundscapes, whereas the metal ones do appeal, of course, to the genre's followers. Personally, apart from few names such as Burzum, I was never seduced neither by these almost paradoxically faster-than-light guitars, nor by the malignant old hag-like vocals that are the black metal trademarks since the early 1990s'. But, these are just personal tastes, and it's not hard to imagine that the many fans of both music worlds will largely appreciate this devastating crossover.

From Medienkonverter: (by Horrschd)

 Ein Duo aus dem benachbarten Belgien will uns mit "Krieg Blut Ehre Asche" die Abende bereichern oder zumindest ihre Version musikalischer Zerstörungswut aufzeigen. Wer sich hinter nde verbirgt bleibt unbekannt, genau wie ihre Gedanken, Ambitionen, Ansichten zu politischen Lage, Bedeutung der Abkürzung nde oder zu ihrer Lieblingseissorte. Keine Homepage, Bandinfo, Textauszüge − einfach mal nichts. Eine anti-Werbestrategie, die natürlich in bestimmten Kreisen aufhorchen lässt und mir als Reviewer eine schwierige Aufgabe aufgibt. Aber dazu im dritten Abschnitt mehr.

nde sind mit dem vorliegenden Album ein Garant für schlechte Stimmung und genervte Nachbarn. Naja, um ehrlich zu sein werden auch geschätzte 99% der Musikhörer dieser Welt genervt sein. Aber für die ist eine Mischung aus Black Metal, Ambient, Noise und military/harsh Sounds, die nach der Fertigstellung noch mindestens 95mal durch den Verzerrer gejagt wurde um auch ja schief, schrill, nervig, unfreundlich und abstoßend zu klingen, einfach nicht gemacht. Für mich ehrlich gesagt auch nicht, denn es gibt nur wenige Titel der acht Akte, die ich für mich als konsumierbar tituliere. So klingt Titel 4 irgendwie danach, als ob man Mr. und Mrs. Arafna bei der Erstellung eines neues [Haus Arafna] Albums überrascht hätte um sie dann mit den bisher aufgenommenen Tonträgern zu erschlagen. Schreie, Misstöne und eine stumpf schlagender Rhythmus... und das ist eines der hörbareren Erlebnisse. Nummer 5 ist dann ein schön morbider Hintergrundsound aus alten Computertagen, der mit matialischen Trommeln, Fiepsen und den mit der Zeit auch wirklich nervend verzerrten Gekreische untersetzt wurde.

Es wird sicherlich Menschen geben, die dem Ganzen etwas abgewinnen können und ich will NDE auch aus musikalischer Sicht keine Schelte erteilen − interessant, fordernd und durchaus auch kreativ und neu sind sie ja. Was aber doch irgendwie stört ist eine ganz andere Komponente, die das Ganze überschattet: nde geben sich und ihre Ansichten in keinster Weise zu erkennen, lassen aber auch die Möglichkeit offen, rechterem Gedankengut positives abgewinnen zu können. Der Albumtitel (auch in deutscher Sprache), die ganze Heimlichtuerei und ein Label, dass bereits ein paar Formationen im Katalog aufführt, die man recht deutlich zuordnen kann (gilt definitiv nicht für alle!!!). Ich hoffe, nde geben sich wenigstens in dieser Hinsicht zu erkennen − mysteriöses Getue hin oder her, das muss nicht sein.

From Gonzo Circus: (by PV)

 Een galmende mokerslag opent de vijandelijkheden van een nieuw Belgisch project, dat eerder al zijn sporen verdiende in noise/power electronics middens als onder ander Cold Flesh Colony en Legion Ultra. De typische gekwelde stem heeft die dagen overleefd, maar muzikaal tapt NDE uit een heel ander vaatje. Zowel de (soms al te) prominent aanwezige duivelsstemmen als de gebalde muziek hebben sterke Black Metal invloeden, terwijl de bombastisch echoënde marsritmes naar het martial genre lonken. Ook visueel staat de blik op doem: een tussen de ruïnes staat een eenzame, in een pij gehulde, figuur. Kortom, NDE is een leger dat rechtstreeks uit de Hel komt, en deze cd zal zeker satanisch grijnzend onthaald worden door lieden met zwartomrande ogen, die eerder ook al de industrial/Black Metal crossover van MZ.412 konden appreciëren.