ALBUM REVIEW: Zornvlouch – YounA

Leipzig’s YOUNA look set to become one of the more impressive acts within Germany’s black metal underground. Their debut EP Urgewalt, which came out in February last year, set down some decent foundations for the band’s sound and music, proving to be a good piece of black metal with an old school, if ever so slightly predictable sound. Hot on the heels of this record comes YOUNA‘s debut full length, Zornvlouch, an album that incorporates more imaginative leads and a heady, palpable atmosphere to make not only a marked step up for the band, but also one of the better black metal records to come out so far this year.

Knochen zu Asche, Kronen zu Rost starts this album on an incredibly high note, with a darkly atmospheric opener giving way to a razor sharp, caustic slab of black metal with tight, ferocious guitars, arid vocals and precise drums, making for a powerful and aggressive track that sets a bleak and vicious tone for what’s to come. Tievelswizzan has a much more chaotic and jarring sound, with the music quickly descending into a whirlwind of primal, frenzied guitars and drums, with rabid vocals carving through the general intensity, giving this song a much more dissonant and unflinching sound.

Zornvlouch picks up where the previous song left off, proving to be a blisteringly fast and acerbic affair from start to finish, with a much more focused guitar sound and robust, forceful rhythms that give this particular song plenty of brilliant moments, lending this song a tighter sound that proves to be catchy in spite of its dirty and raw production. Vreveler has a much more ominous, immersive sound to it, courtesy of the chanting that opens it, and the music actually begins to build around this element of the songs sound, with more primitive percussion, a fantastic, thundering bass line and vast, full guitars giving this song a more grandiose sound than the earlier tracks on the album, making this song stand apart for all the right reasons. Tievelsühtic takes the more visceral and grating side of the bands sound and provides a punchy, memorable burst of bestial black metal with an energetic and cacophonous edge. It’s a fairly short track for this record, but it works extremely well, and takes the aggression of the music to its second most pronounced.

Verdrieß und Verderben sees the more savage and feral approach reach its apex, with discordance and a breakneck pace initially giving this song an almost grindcore level of fierceness, whilst still maintaining some great, hypnotic black metal elements, with the haunting, atmospheric moments that close the song bridging a gap between the two key components of the bands sound. Urgewalt, the album’s final track, does a great job of bringing together the various parts that make YOUNA sound so impressive, from the noxious ambience that hangs over the music, to the acidic roar of the vocals, juggernaut drum sections and meaty, fierce guitars. There’s some lighter moments from the guitars that pierce through the intensity, providing another sparse, yet well placed, aspect to this songs sound, which ultimately makes this track a fitting conclusion to a powerful and vitriolic piece of music.

This is an incredibly good debut album that manages to strike the right balance between raw and visceral black metal and a much catchier, punchier sound. Although a couple of the songs go on slightly longer than is necessary, there’s not a lot of weak moments on display on here. YOUNA have clearly tightened up their sound and developed a more energetic and effective songwriting style, trimming what little fat was present on Urgewalt and leaving only lean and impressive music in its wake. With any look, the band will carry the vast majority of the elements that are prevalent on this record forward, from the excellent musicianship to the brilliantly dark and grimy production, because they’ve settled on a fantastic formula with this record.

Rating: 9/10

Zornvlouch is out now via Into Endless Chaos Records.

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