With this self titled album UR present their debut (2013),
consisting of 3 long songs all above the 10 minute mark and a runtime of about
42 minutes altogether.
The four piece band from
Dresden/Germany formed 2010 and they play a blend of atmospheric Post and Doom
Metal, inspired, according to their self-description, by “the realm of
forgotten, exterminated and endangered animals” and like the band name and the song
titles as well as the doomy epic slow heaviness of the music itself suggest,
their focus is not so much on insects but rather on larger more massive
species.
Immanent in all three songs
are their slow build ups that pile up to huge waves of ambient sound carrying
an atmosphere of a dark, gloomy melancholy. Vocals are near to non-existent,
but used to great effect.
Still the songs are all
differently structured.
While the first song “Aurochs”
is characterized by slow plodding march like rhythms that pick up layers of
different sounds on their way and is growing more and more from the doomy base
into an ambient soundscape, “Condor” stands out due to its long (ca. 7 min.)
quiet, mostly acoustic sounding middle part that has its own arcs of tension
and build ups. Each different instrument takes its turn in the lead. This part
is bursting with emotion which is carried into the last heavier and louder part
giving it an enormous impact.
“Megaloceros” is the only
truly instrumental and the most Post Metal sounding song, drony, bassy,
distorted, fuzzy. This is rather straight and forward driving (though not
without breaks), like one big wave with a beautiful melancholic melody riding
on it to land on a shore of distortion, feedback and dissonance yet not losing
its melody throughout.
This is an amazing debut
album. Most striking are the slow and long build ups that are able to carry
their tension into the ambient soundscapes without drowning all the subtler
details. This gives the songs a kind of filigree elegance and texture still
embraced by doomy heaviness.
words by Ulla Roschat
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