ALBUM REVIEW: Omnia Mars Aequat – Ulveblod

Born out of the ashes of NIHIL, ULVEBLOD seem poised to continue the legacy of that former band. With Vitriol at the helm, and making use of many of the session musicians that worked with NIHIL in the past, the band have expanded on their former, experimental sound, and morphed into an intense and bellicose blackened noise act. However, the debut EP from ULVEBLOD, Omnia Mars Aequat, is a horrendous, discordant whirlwind of visceral black metal infused noise music, and proves to be a shaky start for the band.

Seven Heads and Ten Horns starts this album off with a caustic, feral slab of black metal, with a wild blend of shrill vocals, punishing drumming and grating guitar hooks building a whirlwind of discordant, acerbic noise. It’s a demented, visceral aural assault that sets a harsh tone for the rest of the record. Purified By Fyre, with its jarring, repetitive riff and chaotic drums making for an uncomfortable listen. It’s a savage, claustrophobic track with some rabid vocals that serve to add to the primitive nature of this music.

In the Shadow of Sephirah Keter is, much like the first two tracks, is a vicious, relentless cacophony of drums, guitars and arid vocals, with little, if anything, in the way of hooks. At points, it’s legitimately nauseating to listen to. Chaosophy seems to be one of the more focused offerings on the album, with a tight drum beat and sharp, ethereal guitars actually providing some respite from the relentless noise that has preceded it, and proving to be a fairly intense, raw slab of black metal with some excellent, venom soaked vocals and a bleak, oppressive guitar sound, making this the stand out track on the record.

The Dying Wound of God is a monolithic piece of music with a solid, rhythmic undercurrent around which the noise elements within the bands sound are built. It takes the strengths of the previous offering, notably powerful, percussive drumming, acidic, snarling vocals and a chunky guitar sound, and wraps it up in the cacophonous, dizzying mix of fuzz and dirge-like ambience. If it had been around half the length it actually is, it could have been a decent end to the record, but it ultimately outstays its welcome somewhere around the ten minute mark. If ULVEBLOD had incorporated some of Dark Ambience that dominates the final few minutes of this track, it could have worked out quite well, and brought the album to an end on one of its highest notes.

If ULVEBLOD had leaned a little more into their black metal influences as opposed to the noise elements within their sound, this could have turned out to be a really impressive album. However, the noise influences, which utterly dominate large chunks of the album, and the sprawling length of the final track, hinder rather than help it. Nonetheless, there are some impressive moments peppered throughout, with the vocals in particular being monstrous and feral, and it would definitely appeal to music fans who appreciate a record that is challenging to listen to.

Rating: 5/10

Omnia Mars Aequat is set for release April 17th via Consouling Sounds.