Album Review: Urzah - The Scorching Gaze
Reviewed by Chris Taylor
If you’ve been looking for some epic progressive sludge metal then have I got the new band for you.
Urzah from the south west of England have already started to build a name for themselves in their relatively short career. As well as releasing a few singles and an EP they have shared the stage with amazing bands such as OHHMS, Tuskark, Acid Throne among others, and played the finals in Bloodstock’s Metal 2 The Masses last year.
The band have been honing their craft for the last few years, and have at long last brought us their debut album via APF Records, The Scorching Gaze.
Right from the word go, this album is trying to blast you off your seat. I, Empyrean, fires off with strong, powerful riffs and booming percussion. If you’re well versed in your early Mastodon you will feel right at home here, the riffs just keep coming and the driving pace is so satisfying.
But it’s not all about pummelling you repeatedly with riffs, there is an incredible sense of scale here brought on by the vocals. The use of melody underneath the harsh vocals creates a very atmospheric tone to complement the barrage of heavy guitar and drums.
It’s also an album that wants to show you many different sides of heavy. In contrast to the balls to wall heaviness of the opening track, Lacrimare (Misery’s shadow) starts off much more frenetic and chaotic, until it then undercuts with foreboding ambient guitar and vocals to put you on edge. Immateria Noir mixes things up again by putting a spotlight on the progressive side of Urzah’s sound, it’s more restrained in it’s pace but maintains the strong presence and atmosphere with a very open and epic sound.
If all the weight of the album is a bit too much for you, there is a cheeky ballad in here as well. With vocals provided by the ethereal Eleanor Tinlin over a sombre clean guitar, it’s a strong addition to the album even if it contrasts everything else and shows Urzah’s wide songwriting range which would be awesome to hear more of on future releases.
To round off your debut with a fifteen minute epic is certainly a bold choice. Thera concludes the album, split into two parts, and it’s simply massive. It goes through everything the album has offered up to this point; frenetic leads, crushing riffs, soothing ambience, and immense payoff. The repeated stabbing passage that concludes the first part creates a sense of dread I’ve not felt since Third Eye by Tool. Part two is an explosive end to the album. The simple chugging guitar that becomes so heavy along with the most aggressive vocals on the album creates a stunning finale not just for this fifteen minute epic, but the album as a whole.
Urzah are here to rattle your eardrums, and have utterly succeeded with The Scorching Gaze. This band has all the force of an atomic bomb, no matter if it’s faster and frenetic, or strong and epic. Absolutely one of the debuts you need to check out this year.
