Urza - The Omnipresence Of Loss (CD)

funeral death doom metal, Solitude Productions, Solitude Productions
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The debut work by the group from Germany composed in the best traditions of funeral doom metal. This is not only the dark and ultra-heavy music enriched by delicious melodies contained in five long tracks, a unique impressive atmosphere is included together with a dense professional sound that bring Urza in line with the recognized apostles of the genre.

Tracklist:
1 Lost In Decline
2 A History Of Ghosts
3 Path Of Tombs
4 From The Vaults To Extermination
5 Demystifying The Blackness

Artist:
Urza
Artist Country:
Germany
Album Year:
2019
Title:
The Omnipresence Of Loss
Genre:
funeral death doom metal
Format:
CD
Type:
CD Album
Package:
Jewel Case
Label:
Solitude Productions
Cat Num:
SP. 143-19
Release Year:
2019
Barcode:
4627080611528
Country Of Manufacture:
Russia
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Review
Grizzly Butts
4.25/5
03.04.2019

Born in the year zero as a noble brought up in neglect and contempt alongside his brother Mishra, the great sorcerer Urza would live well over four thousand years and define himself in defiance of the blackness of Phyrexia and its ruler Yawgmoth. Apprentice to the great artificer and creator of many great machine beasts Urza was eventually beheaded and shamed in his final push to avenge Mishra’s manipulation and the soul-eating grief resultant from the Brother’s War. I’d say Jeff Grub‘s novelization of that war in the Magic: The Gathering universe was the best entry in the Artifacts Cycle series as the other authors would get a bit lost in Urza’s characterization who’d balance light with Mishra’s (Phyrexia manipulated) darkness but, I’m not here for a review of a twenty one year old book series based on a card game I played during elementary school lunch break in the late 80’s. Urza is the chosen name for a fine Berlin, Germany based funeral death/doom metal group who’ve released their stunningly dark debut full-length after roughly four years of formative work and a handful of live shows.

Formed between festival goers in 2015 Urza was initially a casual meeting of bassist Marc Leclerc (Spawn, ex-Kadath), drummer Hannes, and Olli Schreyer (Torn to Pieces, ex-Ophis) that would eventually come to include guitarist Marcus (Witch Ritual) and vocalist Thomas (ex-Desolated, Secretum). Some members are seasoned professionals and others are brand new to the experience but what unites them is both an interest in extreme doom metal and some good taste in death metal. As a fan of funeral doom who first approached the sub-genre due to death/doom crossover moments, I find Urza impressive in their capably balanced crossing of death/doom with funeral doom atmospherics. While you will get satisfaction as a funeral doom fan it’ll be on the spectrum of groups like Fuoco Fatuo, recent Esoteric, and Ahab‘s ‘The Oath’ era to some extent. In interviews the band references ‘Antithesis of Light’ and Bell Witch and I’d say this gives a small window into the atmospheric values of ‘The Omnipresence of Loss’ and makes for a reasonable comparison to Un‘s ‘Sentiment’ from last year, though Urza offer something more palpably ‘death metal’ and more often. Additionally later tracks, specifically “Demystifying the Blackness”, begin to enter the realm of early Katatonia just softly enough that the full hour never feels like a one-dimensional slog.

As exciting as this sort of music is even if many would see it superficially as mere ‘genre entry’, there are many surprises here that make Urza‘s debut something special to behold. What comes to mind first is the break a bit beyond the mid-point of “From The Vaults To Extermination” where sustained feedback rings atop a gloomy, broken bassline and vocalist Thomas has a bit of a psychotic break himself before the song kicks back into a heavy barrel-chested outro. Thomas’ vocals are often bold and offer an admirable set of tones that appear tuned towards the types of slow-motion movements the record offers, and he is quite capable within a death metal blast or a Mournful Congregation-esque opening bellow. There is a sense that they’ve appreciated modern funeral doom artists but not stolen from them, only gathering what is most interesting about funeral death/doom and applying their own compositional ideas. It appears subtle when you’re a die-hard extreme doom fan sludged in a hundred great bands but with some closer attention ‘The Omnipresence of Loss’ offers a deeply sincere bout of doom from fans who are inspired and not just LARPing a neat sub-genre niche.

An hour long extreme doom metal album is such a daunting thing for the average listener so the inherent trouble in spreading the word is that I’ll only reach the most patient folks first, the type of folks who are perhaps the most wise and critically anhedonist. With this in mind I still think Urza are really the most ‘on fire’ when they’re crafting 10+ minute epics that allow for emotional progressions within songs, worlds within a world as it were; The nearly 18 minute opener “Lost in Decline” is so impressive that it threatened to overtake the full listen upon first impression, but the two tracks that follow it keep the momentum going beautifully through my personal favorite track “Path of Tombs”. That momentum-sustaining sense of pace is a strengthening trait also shared by Loss and I think fans of that band would do well to sit with this record with the caveat that the actual sound of either band is quite different.

There are few moments more entertaining to me as a nerd confronted with a ton of music to shred through than when my first impressions of a band are just slightly off. To feel ‘The Omnipresence of Loss’ shift from an average first listen to one of the strongest funeral death/doom records of the year so far is some small reward for giving Urza the patience and consideration to develop within the mind. I’d say these Berlin fellows are doing the sub-genre right and their debut album is well above average. Highly recommended. For preview I’d suggest “Lost in Decline” gives a full range of the general experience, but don’t overlook “Path of Tombs” and “Demystifying the Blackness” as they expand beyond the range of the opener.

Author: terraasymmetry
Solitude Productions 19.09.2019, 16:21
Review
Everything is Noise

Something that always intrigues me about music is the vast spectrum of which is can affect different people. One person can absolutely fall head-over-heels for a genre, and another might not touch it with a ten-foot auxiliary cord. This seems to be particularly true about the metal scene. There are the ‘prog nerds’, the ‘metalcore bros’, the ‘thrash metalheads’, and so on. Many seem to write themselves off into a category of whatever they enjoy the most and more artists from that realm just keep floating their way. That being said, the genre also holds a few outliers; the sub-genres that fans of the more prominent themes must seek out specifically. In this case, I’m talking about funeral doom metal. Band in point: Urza, with their newest album The Omnipresence of Loss. And maybe it’s my affinity for dark and macabre elements, but funeral doom metal is a sub-genre for which I have a very soft spot. So when I was introduced to Urza, I was in.

The Omnipresence of Loss is the first full-length release of the Berlin-based group, and boy, does it leave a good impression. The album opens with the gruff-in-a-good-way “Lost In Decline” that consumes the listener for a whopping seventeen minutes of sultry darkness. This track serves as the perfect introduction to the album in its entirety, as it continues down the path of nihilistic resistance with its successor, “A History of Ghosts” to fully solidify the listener’s idea that they may no longer on the same plane as everyone else around them.


In an interview about the album, the band’s members stated that upon writing the album, ‘we had not a concrete kind of concept, but it all got together and we gathered lyrics that fit the music to the core: reflecting negative aspects in life as loss of hope, loss of beliefs, loss in general, apocalyptic prophecies.’ Which, in all honesty, is exactly what I like to hear about the choices in my doom metal repertoire. For those unfamiliar with doom metal, the sub-genre can essentially be summed up by lower-tuned guitars, long, hefty breakdowns, and contain lyrics (if there are any) with themes of despair. One reason I believe it’s an easy sect of the metal scene to enjoy is that it is inherently very deep. Doom does not have to work hard to get the listener to pay attention to it. For me, I find most doom bands have something to say that typically throws me into a bit of existential dread. Call me a bit of a masochist, but that is exactly what I want out of any artistic work.

Heavy hitters like “Path of Tombs” and “From the Vaults to Extermination” stay true to Urza‘s mission with a whole cacophony of gruesome guitar riffs and bass slams, accompanied by some gut-wrenching wails of despair that perfectly encapsulate what funeral doom is all about. Then, the album comes to a triumphant conclusion with “Demystifying the Blackness”, with its sticky, sludgy blasts and thunderous melody, to represent a feeling of utter acceptance of, and maybe even survival through, the impending doom of an apocalyptic fate. This is truly the album to whip out when you are exhausted and ready to wallow in all of life’s squabbles.


I am well-aware that funeral doom is not for everyone. Its propensity for dark, unnerving themes are not the most appealing to all audiences. However, I urge those who are willing to give it a chance. Whether you, like myself, are more driven by the concepts or messages being portrayed when it comes to art, or you are more entranced by the technical, theoretical side of music, I strongly believe that The Omnipresence of Loss will strike a chord with you. It is, overall, very worthy of its placement both in the funeral doom metal world, and in the world of metal as a whole.

Author: Natalie Dominguez
Solitude Productions 19.09.2019, 16:21
Review
Metal.de
6/10
15.03.2019

Ob man, um hinter URZA zu steigen, sich den kleinen Bären anschauen muss? Das steht womöglich in den Sternen.
Was mit URZA wiederum wahrscheinlich schwierig wird, denn die Fliehgeschwindigkeit der Erde wird man hiermit sicherlich nicht brechen: Funeral Doom im Schleichgang steht an. Das Gespann aus Berlin präsentiert mit „The Omnipresence of Loss“ ihr Debüt unter der Flagge des russischen Labels Solitude Productions, welches ganz auf das Schwermütige und Langsame spezialisiert ist und dessen bekanntester Export DOOM:VS sein dürfte.

URZA – neues Futter für Funeral-Doom-Jünger aus Berlin
URZA erfüllen gekonnt die Charakteristika des Genres: Dämonisch tiefe Growls aus der Hölle, massive Riffs in Rollatorgeschwindigkeit, knackige Produktion, hin und wieder mal ein wenig die Geschwindigkeit anziehen. Dabei ist die vertonte Langsamkeit in diesem Genre immer ein wenig der Tanz auf der Klinge: Wie lange kann man bestimmte Riffs halten und der Atmosphäre dienlich einsetzen, bevor es fade wird und die Langeweile einsetzt?

Wie behutsam muss man mit Elementen zur Auflockerung umgehen, etwa atmosphärischen Zwischenspielen, kleinen Tempowechseln, vielleicht mal einer Leadgitarre oder auch die volle Noiseeskapade dem Hörer ins Gesicht klatschen? Das zu perfektionieren erfordert Erfahrung und Talent, welches nur wenige Bands in dem Genre meisterlich hinbekommen. URZA haben gute Ansätze, aber genau in diesen Punkten können sie noch nicht mit den „Großen“ wie SKEPTICISM, EVOKEN, ESOTERIC oder auch den Labelbrüdern DOOM:VS mithalten.

„The Omnipresence of Loss“ erfüllt die Genrevorgaben, aber eben auch nicht mehr
Der mit siebzehn Minuten massige Opener „Lost in Decline“ bietet im ersten Songdrittel zwar einen kurzen Geschwindigkeitsanzug, bleibt danach aber fast die gesamte Spieldauer in derselben Geschwindigkeit, mit demselben, minimal variierten Riff, was den Geduldsfaden schon ziemlich strapaziert. Was gut kommt, sind die klagenden, heiseren Schreie anfangs des Nachfolgers „A History of Ghosts“, die teilweise an frühe URFAUST-Geschichten erinnern und eine interessante Facette dazu bringen.

Der Rest des Songs plätschert aber trotz Eingängigkeit eher so dahin. „Path of Tombs“ gibt sich zwischen drin immerhin mal etwas ruppiger und vermag so Farbtupfer zu setzen. Ebenso wird „From The Vaults To Extermination“ auch am spannendsten zum Schluss durch Anziehen der Geschwindigkeit. Warum nicht mehr davon und warum nicht etwas verteilt durch die Songs mal so als Überraschung? Auch der Rausschmeißer „Demystifying the Blackness“ kommt anfangs sehr toll und melancholisch durch die Leadgitarre in Verbindung mit den Growls daher, so dass man sich fragt, warum nicht schon vorher in den Songs mit solchen Zutaten gewürzt wurde?

Nicht so schüchtern und sparsam mit Melodien und Experimenten umgehen, auch im Funeral Doom. Potential haben die Berliner definitiv und für ein Debütalbum ist „The Omnipresence of Loss“ auch mehr als ordentlich. Um den Platzhirschen im Genre gefährlich zu werden, müssen URZA aber in Zukunft mehr wagen.

Author: Alexander Santel
Solitude Productions 19.09.2019, 16:20
Review
Metal Archives
9.4/10
27.08.2019

I have a soft spot for doom metal and while I own just a few records of that style in physical format given the right circumstances and mood it can be a nice experience to get drawn into a dark and melancholic world. There is a certain coziness sitting at home when the weather is cold outside with a cup of tea or a glass of red wine listening to some slow and heavy songs and get lost in those hypnotizing soundscapes. Urza is my first foray into the sub-genre of funeral doom and while I am not an expert when it comes to this niche and its history I think it is fair to say that funeral doom bands take a lot of what defines doom metal and push the formula to the extreme. So in short I would say the songs are even longer and slower and the level of despair is ramped up to the maximum making the listening experience even more intense.

However, it would be unfair to reduce the music by this German band to this description as their music is fascinating and crafted with a great feeling for songwriting. The basis of the music is comprised of crushingly heavy riffing akin to Scandinavian death/doom metal classics played in a slower and more stoic way. The main chords are colossal and the buzz-saw tone of the guitar helps to create a filthy and doom-soaked atmosphere. The lead guitar harmonies are cleverly implemented and offer hints of melody into an otherwise atonal framework. The main themes have a very melancholic vibe lending the record a dark and slightly depressive nature. The stoic patterns are having a very hypnotical effect on the listener.

Each track has a clearly defined build-up making use of eerie yet breathtaking harmonies often culminating in an epic conclusion. Soft and mellow parts are used to create a dense atmosphere by being cleverly weaved into the crawling riff attacks and the overall picture. Dystopian themes and dreamy soundscapes are building sophisticated passages and giving the whole music a mystical and hypnotizing touch. There is a certain level of melancholy constantly dwelling in the background and although the overall atmosphere being pretty desperate and bleak you cannot help but getting drawn deeper and deeper into the swirl of darkness and its irresistible fascination.

It can become a bit of a difficult listen as the band keep slowing down to a crawl most of the time and the guitarists downpick slowly to the slogging beat only occasionally upping the tempo in certain sections by a few nuances. Lovers of faster and more casual metal might find this boring and start to look elsewhere. While this is for sure not the kind of music I could listen to each and all day I highly appreciate the mood Urza are able to create, leading to a satisfying listening experience given the right circumstances.

The growling is deep and powerful underlining the haunting nature of the album. The production is thick and heavy but there is enough room to breathe for each instrument. No detail has been lost in the mix and can be noticed while carefully listening. Overall I can only recommend to consume “The Omnipresence of Loss” as a whole as the stringent flow of the music and the subtle variation of similar signature themes over the whole playing time make this album one connected piece of musical art. Highly recommended for cold and foggy autumnal days.

Author: Edmund Sackbauer
Solitude Productions 11.09.2019, 08:53
Review
DarkUndergroundMusicZine
8/10
29.06.2019

Urza are a band from Germany that plays funeral doom metal and this is a review of their 2019 album "The Omnipresence Of Loss" which was released by Solitude Productions.

Dark soundscapes start off the album along with some powerful sounding bass guitars a few seconds later that lead to a heavier funeral doom metal direction along with the vocals being deep death metal growls as all of the tracks being very long and epic in length and the riffs also bring in a decent amount of dark sounding melodies.

At time s a touch of 90's era doom/death metal can be heard in the bands musical style while the focus is on more of a modern sound. When screams are utilized they add in a touch of black metal along with some clean playing also being added into some parts of the music and when guitar solos and leads are utilized they are done in a very melodic style, clear vocals can also be heard briefly and all of the music sticks to a slower direction.

Urza plays a style of funeral doom metal that is very slow, dark, heavy and melodic sounding along with some touches of depressive black metal. The production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover apocalypse, nihilism, denial and death themes.

In my opinion Urza are a very great sounding funeral doom metal band and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "A History Of Ghosts" and "Demystifying The Blackness".

Author: OccultBlackMetal
Solitude Productions 02.07.2019, 09:30
Review
Antichrist Magazine
6.9/10
06.05.2019

You are now falling into deep void of sleep and despair, the atmosphere crushing in pressure, reminiscent of anesthesia and unconsciousness. What does this have to do with Urza’s: The Omnipresence of Loss you may ask? Because it is a funeral album of course! Urza is a funeral death/doom metal band from Berlin, Germany and The Omnipresence of Loss is their debut album of 2019. Doom metal is a genre I do not excessively tangle myself with, and this applies to the funeral sub-genre even more so. However, with Urza’s beautiful cover art that portrayed an atmospheric world of darkness and lonesome, I gravitated towards this album and had anticipations of picking an unfamiliar genre to listen to. And upon listening to the over an hour long album, I was thoroughly discomforted with the material presented, as it reverberated with signs of a horrible album. But, in my most recent re-listen, I found myself having much more of a diverting time.

My first grievances were innate from the get go, as they are integral to the album at its core. Funeral metal is excruciatingly taxing on my ability to maintain a consistent level of consciousness and sensible awareness, or in short: It makes me sleepy. I feel I should make it clear that it is no fault of the album on a technical side or the songwriting side, which causes me this minute drowsiness, because there have been albums I’ve fallen asleep to, that were incredibly disagreeably and were not funeral or doom related. However, it is works like the funeral doom metal band Asunder and The Omnipresence of Loss that cause this endurance test of wakefulness that depreciate my opinion of these works. And this not to insult the genre in any way, but the constant droning of the fuzzy guitars and their sluggish yet incessant pace just know how to lull me into a slumber. And it’s a shame as well, as if I were more invested in the genre, I could dissect the numbing hum of the guitars and appreciate their mild beauty. However, what I can appreciate is how well everything fits together in this album.

I’d love to note that on my second listen to this album, I took the initiative to keep myself invested and read along the lyrics to each of the 5 songs featured. And in all honesty, it made the experience better in my opinion, as the lyrics tone of dreary nihilism, loss, melancholy, and all around negativity matched the sluggish, tired tone of the music perfectly. This is an example of lyrics that can make or break an album, and that lyrics actually have purpose and matter almost as much as every other aspect of going into an album. There’s no anger in the vocal delivery as well, but a languid desperation, scarred by pain and misery that accentuate the lyrics tenfold. Thomas’ vocal direction was peculiar at first, using guttural, almost slam like vocal styles to punctuate this album, but in hindsight, his long, drawn out growls, howls, shrieks and cries add a fine level of detail to the abject torment of loss that this album projects. The lyrics themselves, paint a picture of a decimated world torn asunder by plague and illness, whilst also preaching the pain of mortal isolation and death. Couple these lyrics with their delivery, then accentuate both of these with the dream-like imagery of the cover, and boom, perfect album tone that I’m sure every funeral fan will adore, as I found myself coming around to like it.

The sound of the album is to say complex, yet simple in delivery. It’s not quite dream-like or fantastical, and not nightmarish either, almost acting like a purgatory of slumber, lost and miserable. The guitars by Oliver and Marucs are the standard doom pace and don’t stand out on a technical level, but carry a hum that is downright hypnotizing, no doubt a cause for my initial troubles with this album. However, it’s not the same song and dance for the entire duration, as some faster picking is seen on tracks like “Path of Tombs” or echoed acoustics on the album opener “Lost In Decline”. These changes aren’t drastic and meld perfectly with other parts of the songs, whilst also breaking up the monotony, as some of these songs are not afraid to speed things up slightly. The bass as well, courtesy of Marc Leclerc, has a fuzzy, warm timbre to it, which integrated with the guitars, is as soothing as it is course and tired. Hannes on drums provides as well, with an echoed, archaic sound that resonates within the void of these crawling tracks.

While I enjoy singing praises of the highlights of this album, it still comes down to the music for me and what’s going on. An album can have perfect synchronization with itself in all aspects, but at the nitty-gritty, is it for me? I do enjoy the tone, and how it’s executed, but the major problem as I established earlier is that this album puts me to sleep. Do I enjoy reading along and being engaged? Yes, absolutely. Should I have to read to be engaged with an album? No, absolutely not. If it were much shorter, like maybe sheer down the songs a bit, or scrap one or two, that’d be fine, but that can really only be done in the latter. This isn’t the longest album I’ve listened to, only about an hour and two minutes, but being a funeral death/doom metal album, you really feel that run time, minute by minute, second by second. I was not looking forward to the slog of re-listening to this album, as it’s a hefty engagement. But, if you’re into the doom stuff, it’s sure enough to be a bang for your buck.

Author: Yade Malice
Solitude Productions 17.05.2019, 10:26
Review
Iye Zine
7.5/10
21.04.2019

Di norma accogliamo sempre con grande soddisfazione l’apparizione di nuove band dedite al funeral death doom, tanto più poi se al primo full length l’etichetta che ne cura l’uscita è una garanzia come la Solitude.

I tedeschi Urza, come prevedibile, non deludono e si rendono protagonisti di un lavoro decisamente degno della fiducia a loro accordata dalla label russa.
La band berlinese, in effetti, sarebbe attiva già da alcuni anni ma come sempre la gestazione nel doom non è mai breve per definizione, per cui dopo il singolo Path Of Tombs, pubblicato lo scorso anno, arriva ora l’esordio su lunga distanza The Omnipresence Of Loss che, già nell’ultima parola del titolo, porta con sé qualche indicazione utile a inquadrare il sound visto che l’omonima band statunitense è senz’altro uno dei vari punti di riferimento per gli Urza.
Il sound offerto è aspro, dalle poche divagazioni melodiche ma comunque non troppo monolitico né rallentato, offrendo nei limiti delle coordinate del genere una certa varietà ritmica con il ricorso a qualche corrosiva accelerazione così come a più liquidi e rarefatti passaggi.
La già citata Path Of Tombs è decisamente la traccia guida dell’album grazie alla presenza di una linea melodica più definita rispetto al tetragono andamento degli altri quattro brani. D’altronde il background di gran parte degli esperti musicisti coinvolti nel progetto è soprattutto di matrice death (anche se il chitarrista Oliver Schreyer ha fatto parte della line up degli Ophis in occasione del full length d’esordio Stream Of Misery) e questo spiega in parte come il funeral degli Urza appaia più robusto e meno dolente rispetto a quanto siamo abituati ad ascoltare. The Omnipresence Of Loss si rivela un lavoro senz’altro riuscito anche se, per le sue caratteristiche, la durata che supera di poco l’ora ne rende piuttosto impegnativo l’ascolto.

Author: STEFANO CAVANNA
Solitude Productions 02.05.2019, 09:19
Review
Metal Temple
8/10
24.04.2019

Funeral Death and Doom Metal always make for a rock steady marriage. Funeral Death's Earth-rumbling vocal styles match Doom's cavernous bass, seamlessly. Doom's iconic molasses tempos pair wonderfully with Funeral Death's lyrics of heartless destruction of man. The two are more than meant for each other. One such successful marriage story is URZA. Hailing from Berlin, an area not known for many Doom bands, URZA has been active for four years. The Omnipresence of Loss is their debut. Like an Eldritch horror version of SUMAC, URZA crawls around the deep where the air is thin, their many eyes, blind and clouded over blink in unison as it crawls through mud in search of cave insects.

Frontman Thomas' booming vocal presence is felt deep in your ribcage as he bellows like the blind cave monster. Like GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR and HARIKARI FOR THE SKY, tracks stretch and sprawl like so many deserted open roads, perfect for self-reflection and listening to your own troubled thoughts bounce and reverberate off the walls of your skull as you stew in your own feelings of complete isolation. There are moments of uncertain fear as the mud-dwelling cave creature grumbles, snuffling around in the filth for that elusive scent of flesh with the appetizing stench of terror on it.

URZA is all about domination; guitars and vocals buzzing alongside crashing cymbals and plodding snares, all sounds conspiring into a sonic machine built to run you down. Like a towering combine harvester; maybe several. "A History of Ghosts" is complete with moans of the anguishing damned as well as the snarls of the demons torturing them. "Path of Tombs" is ghoulishly heavy with the weight of fifty stone sarcophagi bearing down on your soul.

URZA is a vacuum of light and in its darkness lie swarms of blood-thirsty parasites.

Songwriting: 10
Originality: 7
Memorability: 7
Production: 10

Author: Kyle Scott
Solitude Productions 02.05.2019, 09:18
Review
Doom-metal.com
8/10
02.04.2019


Taking a lot of influence from the blueprint for Russian Funeral/Death Doom bands, Germany's Urza make it clear from the opening chords that their wish is to leave a massive footprint with their debut. The album is a pummeling effort dripping with dark and mournful riffs and your occasional heavily effected clean breaks, driven by the deep and guttural growls of the underworld.

If you're looking for a rough, sludgy and loose ensemble to create your evening's soundtrack then you have come to the wrong place. The mixing and production for an album in this genre is on point with a clear polish that in no way takes away or hinders the bleakness that the band is trying to create. Furthermore, the group on display is extremely tight, everything played having a direct and concrete purpose, crafting the ideal level of atmosphere across the five tracks on 'The Omnipresence of Loss'. The album also starts with a seventeen minute long track, so you should already have an idea of what you're getting yourself into.

Fans of the aforementioned glut of Russian Federation bands, as well as Evoken and Esoteric, should aim to contain this record amongst their collections during the 2019 season.

Author: Jon Carr
Solitude Productions 02.05.2019, 09:17
Review
Kaosguards
16/20
15.03.2019

Il faut scruter attentivement la saisissante pochette de ce premier album de URZA pour tenter de saisir ce qui peut bien motiver ce quintette berlinois à pratiquer un Death Doom Metal en mode Funeral !

On aperçoit en effet la frêle silhouette d'un quelconque prêtre brandissant un bâton surmonté d'une croix, juché sur une proéminence rocheuse sombre (à moins qu'il ne s'agisse d'un amas gazeux délétère) qui se découpe à peine sur fond d'un ciel d'une noirceur apocalyptique, percé en son centre par des raies d'une lumière qu'on devine plus destructrice qu'apaisante. Mon hypothèse est que nos braves garçons qui constituent URZA ont voulu tenté de mettre en musique les forces telluriques implacablement à l’œuvre, la noirceur implacable entourant le personnage étant vaguement contrastée par cette lumière de fin du monde.

Pour ce qui d'apporter la lourdeur, le côté caverneux, on peut compter sur l'inspiration Doom Death : riffs titanesques au rendu grondant, batterie pesante, vocaux gutturaux mais encore relativement articulés. La lenteur ne suffisant pas, la part Funeral Doom impose une extrême lenteur, dont il faut souligner qu'elle se trouve convenablement animée par la batterie : rien de particulièrement fou ni trépidant mais on échappe tout de même au minimum métronomique. Par ailleurs, des arrangements, voire des plages atmosphériques ponctuent judicieusement les cinq immenses compositions, créant des zones de contrastes bienvenues et renforçant paradoxalement le sentiment d'écrasement qui s'empare de l'auditeur.

Excroissance maximaliste et atmosphérique du Doom Death, le Funeral Doom se trouve ici régénéré par son parent, signe que URZA vise à imposer une marque qui lui est propre dans des sous-genres extrêmement balisés.

Author: Alain Lavanne
Solitude Productions 03.04.2019, 08:05
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