Ελληνικά
Last Updated on 10:54 PM by Giorgos Tsekas
Genre: Melodic Black Metal
Country: U.S.A.
Label: Eisenwald
Year: 2023
Next year will be the band’s 10th anniversary so Uada probably are on a celebrating mood already and definitely we will see some great things from them in 2014, but before that we have their 4th studio full length that follows 2020’s ‘Djinn’ to deal with. Cascadian Black Metal at its most melodic moments that the band from Portland offered us is now again present in its 4th episode. No I’m not claiming we have another warmed over material not a chance about that. But we can clearly see that their discography has a coherence and a sequence at least to my ears. Most could think that the departure of their lead guitarist (and second longest member) James Sloan would kill them. So simple as that. But they are to hard to die after all…the album starts full of blast beats and sets the tone (for the1/2) of the album. The opener ‘The Abyss Gazing Back’ has some epic riffing that enriches the furious rhythm that envelops the growls and howls of Jake Superchi. The title track is again a blast beat crescendo, but the album continues differently. ‘The Dark (Winter)’, is so melodic and epic that any classic Heavy Metal band or Power would kill to have written it while the pure principles of Melodic Black in the veins of Dissection or Unanimated are undefiled. Jake continues to wide his vocal range from growling to deep haunting chanting and the twin guitars taking us to a enlightenment journey. Strong compositions with tight rhythm section, audible bass lines from Nate Verschoor and powerful drumming from Josh Lovejoy, that uses now blast beats more sparsely after the 3rd song, leads us to the final part in which we step in to two brilliant songs ‘ Retraversing The Void’ and probably the best track of the album ‘Through the Wax and Through the Wane’. The guitar harmonies layered over the bombasting tempo create an epic finale of an incredible record that easily can hear it at one breath in its entirety over and over again. Of course I have to mention the excellent artwork of legendary Kris Verwimp and the refined sound and the polished production that let all instruments to be audible and lives room for the catchy hooks, the tasteful guitars, the pounding drums and the epic feeling to shine. Grandiose as fuck ‘Crepuscule Natura’, is 41 minutes of Melodic Black Metal triumph.
