ALBUM REVIEW: The Scorching Gaze – Urzah
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – the British metal underground is absolutely alive and kicking in 2024, particularly if you’re a fan of brutal or proggy or doomy (or all three) nastiness. New releases from MASTIFF, DVNE and BLANKET have set a pretty high bar for British metal in recent months – one that is no doubt a pretty intimidating one to aim for, especially for a band just making their debut on the scene.
Well, try telling that to sludgy post-metal quartet URZAH, who now present their first album The Scorching Gaze. The band formed in Bristol as recently as 2020 and in a short space of time have already set the South West’s underground metal scene alight. So fiery is the impression they’ve made, they’ve signed a deal with APF Records, underground metal label royalty in the UK responsible for launching such bands as MASTIFF, SWAMP COFFIN, BARBARIAN HERMIT and DESERT STORM to name just a few.
With absolutely no messing about, the album starts off with the gargantuan, metalcore-infused sludge of I, Empyrean, sounding like a cross between MASTODON and UNEARTH with some classic metal riffing thrown in for good measure. As a statement of intent, it is both brutal and beautiful, the metallic sections counter-balanced by atonal washes of post-rock guitars that add a progressive touch to the band’s huge sound. This is not a band who wear their influences too obviously on their (long)sleeves though and the album is truly – apologies for the cliché – a journey through a range of metal subgenres, taking in massive, chugging metal riffs, downtuned doom griminess, haunting, droning post-metal leads and progressive song structures and rhythms.
Second song Lacrimare (Misery’s Shadow) again has a bit of a HIGH ON FIRE vibe but somehow sounds both more focused and more experimental than Matt Pike’s crew. Additionally, the metallic riffing that sits under the reverb-heavy leads in the middle eight could have come from your favourite METALLICA record. With all of this happening in the space of two minutes in the middle of a song, the innovation here really is something to be celebrated.
Halfway through third track Immateria Noir, the band hit a groove that is so satisfyingly heavy, so absolutely right, that it’s kind of hard to describe. It only lasts a few bars, although returns again a bit later, before moving on to more expansive, explorative territory. That there are many examples of this, across the entire record, is testament to the songwriting talent of the band. That this is happening on a debut album is nothing short of phenomenal.
A Storm Is Ever Approaching again takes another slight turn, the drums driving everything in a more hardcore style behind stabbing atonal guitars and aggressive vocals. But wait until you hear the last minute, which consists of a breakdown that is almost unfathomably brilliant. Some bands would base their entire careers purely on this 40 seconds of music. URZAH simply blast it out and move on to something different. Class.
Speaking of something different, next track The Aesthetic is a dreamy-sounding, acoustic interlude sung by guest vocalist Eleanor Tinlin. It’s a wonderful break in proceedings that still sits perfectly in amongst the heaviness and segues brilliantly into Of Decay – a pummelling yet emotive slice of progressive metal that at points plays TOOL at their own game and wins hands down.
The album closes with the suitably ambitious two-parter Thera I and II, telling the story of the catastrophic eruption of the Thera volcano in Ancient Greece. Here, guitarist and vocalist Ed Fairman’s delivery is at its desperate best while the band lay down a doomier groove underneath. There are moments of quiet beauty amongst the horror of the first part, while in contrast the second part finishes the album off with a furious doom explosion that pummels you into submission.
As an album, in terms of its songwriting and approach to pushing the heavy envelope until it’s completely torn asunder, listening to The Scorching Gaze brings to mind the first time this writer heard OPETH’s masterpiece Ghost Reveries more than anything else. Like that album, this journeys from the dark into the light and back again and will regularly leave you with your jaw hanging open, desperately flicking back to track one to start the experience all over again. It is a constantly surprising, immensely satisfying listen that somehow manages to combine genre-pushing experimentation with real classic metal sensibilities. URZAH are destined for great things.
Rating: 10/10
The Scorching Gaze is out now via APF Records.
Like URZAH on Facebook.