SHORT BUT SWEET: URZEIT AND AKATHARSIA – A SPLIT

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  4 Responses »
Oct 312014
 

 

Urzeit from Portland, Oregon, and Akatharsia from Oakland, California, have united for a split release that recently became available on Bandcamp and will be released on vinyl near the end of November. Though the two bands manifest the shroud of black metal in different ways, they both deliver a caustic, corrosive, and gratifyingly venomous listening experience.

URZEIT

I first came upon Urzeit through a guest review of their impressive first demo posted on this site back in February (they have since released a second one). The band’s three-person lineup reportedly includes two members of Ash Borer and Triumvir Foul, plus the sole member of Mizmor. Continue reading »

A TRIO OF REVIEWS: URZEIT, PROPAST, SORA

 Album Reviews  4 Responses »
Feb 202014
 

(We welcome back guest contributor and fellow blogger BreadGod with a trio of reviews.)

Urzeit – Urzeit

Urzeit is a brand new black metal band from Portland, Oregon that released their first demo just a month ago. Urzeit is German for “prehistoric times”. Quite an appropriate name, as this band plays music that is vicious and primitive.

The production is wonderfully raw. The distortion is cold and abrasive. It’s a perfect homage to the D.I.Y. analog production that was a mainstay of early 90s black metal. The music is also a perfect homage to early 90s black metal. The drums are an avalanche of rage and destruction. They constantly switch between savage blast beats and mid-paced rhythms that sound almost punk-like in nature. I especially love the cymbals. They help to add an extra amount of dissonance to what is already a chaotic experience.

The vocals are pain incarnate. They consist of a sick rasp that is cloaked in ghostly reverb. Let me tell you that this guy’s performance is absolutely bone-chilling. It sounds like the sickening calls of a thousand spirits from the distant past. The guitars are excellent as well. The riffs are cold, simple, and ravenous. Like the drums, they sometimes sound punk-like in nature. They also play plenty of riffs that sound like they were pulled straight from early 90s Norway. If you ask me, more black metal bands need to play great riffs like this. Continue reading »