Ufonaut by Entropia

For those not familiar with Entropia, they are a Polish post/black/experimental metal outfit who really hadn't crept onto my radar until the release of this LP here; Ufonaut. With that being said, the fusion of black metal and post metal, also known as blackgaze, has been one of my favorite metal sub genres over the past few years, and it has led me to a handful of fantastic releases from the likes of Deafheaven, Ghostbath, and Harakiri for the Sky. So, when going into this album, I clearly had high expectations. Fortunately for myself, and any other fan of this genre, Entropia delivered in quite impressive fashion. 

On Ufonaut, the band encompasses a traditional black metal style as means to create a basis or outlining sound for their music, but it's their ability to take influence from other subgenres and incorporate them throughout that really adds the extra substance to this project. The opening track Fractal is a great example of that, as the opening 45 seconds or so, see's the band weaving in and out between a much more traditional black metal guitar riff and some Mastodon-esque sludgy, slow paced guitar stylings. As the track progresses, we also see the band incorporate the use of an organ which helps contribute to the very haunting nature of the song. As it comes to end, horns are introduced, which really allow for the group to build a fantastic crescendo to what is easily one of the best moments on the entire LP. 

From there, you find much more of that same risk taking and genre bending formula as the album proceeds. Songs like the title track Ufonaut see the band experiment with some slower, cleaner guitar tones in between heavy, hard hitting moments, while both Mandala and Paradox are used to showcase the group's more experimental side, as they use variations of middle eastern instruments to help create some intricate, folkish instrumental passages. The record's closing cut, Veritas is also worth mentioning, as it's the longest track on the record and also perhaps the loudest. It finishes the album off with a fantastic climax, thanks to the final minute of the track which is full of in your face, wretched, ugly screams that really help drive their sound into your head like a car with no breaks smashing into the side of a burning building (that was seriously the best analogy I had.) 

Aside from Veritas however, the vocals do, at certain moments at least, tend to come off as rather gimmicky and annoying. It's not so much the vocalist himself, (who goes by the stage name of U, as each one of the band members is named after a letter from the word Ultra,) but it's the production choices. Like on the aforementioned opening track Fractal for example, we find a blowing, wind-like noise appearing seemingly every time U opens his mouth, and then as the album continues, the vocals become coated with an echo effect that would make you assume the band recorded the frontman while he was screeching in a dark, empty cave. And while typically that might be a positive on a black metal project, this isn't your ordinary record, and the rest of the production is rather clean and lively in comparison to the raw, lo-fi nature of the vocals. 

With that being said, the vocals only appear on perhaps a third or so of the album, and the focus clearly lays on the instrumentation, which is of course consistently fantastic, so it doesn't interrupt my enjoyment all that much. There really isn't anything on this album that doesn't deliver in a unique and intriguing fashion. It's certainly heavy enough to welcome any fans of more traditional black metal acts, but it also keeps you guessing by firing post-metal inspired passages at you on nearly every single track. A great addition to the Polish black-metal scene, and a fantastic statement for all blackgaze bands around, Entropia delivered a very nice LP.

All in all, I'm giving Ufonaut a 4/5.

Let me know down in the comment section, have you heard the album? If so, what'd you think?

Listen to Fractal, the second single released from the album down below:

You can download or stream the album over on Entropia's bandcamp page here.

Abbath by Abbath

Black metal guitarist/vocalist Abbath is best known as being one of the founding members as well as the principal song-writer for the influential 2nd wave black metal band Immortal. Despite the band's history and contribution to the genre, they've split up multiple times over the last decade, and last year Abbath decided it was time to go his separate way. Upon leaving the group, he announced his intentions to form a band of his own, and now less than a year later his eponymous band have released their eponymous debut, Abbath. (Ego much?)

At it's core, what this project provides is some very loud, raw, fast paced, frantic black metal. Abbath recruits bassist King ov Hell (of God Seed fame) and drummer Creature to join him throughout the album, and their contributions are quite nice. The record opens with a bang, as To War is one of my favorite cuts on the album for it's brutal guitar riff and showcasing of Abbath's retched vocals. It's hard to say the former Immortal front man has lost a step after leaving the band, as he still sounds great on this project, and proves he can continue on without his former bandmates.

While Abbath isn't anything new or innovative, I never would have expected it to be. It's strengths lay in the hard-hitting nature of the music being played, and it's an album meant to be played loud. The weaker parts of the track-listing, for me personally, are when the band slow down. The outro of the second track Winter Bane is an example of this, as the band begin sounding almost classic-rock like, until the climax in the last 15 seconds where a loud shriek brings the song to it's conclusion. The following track, however, picks things right back up as Ashes of the Damned is another favorite of mine thanks to a chorus that incorporates a very interesting use of horns. It's the only cut on the album where the band really take the time to play with any other instrumentation, and while it does pay off, perhaps it's the lack of it throughout the rest of the album that makes it so enjoyable on this particular cut.

As the album comes to a close, it does slow down the pacing a bit once again for Root of the Mountain, which is probably my least favorite track on the album. It's one of the slower cuts as I mentioned, and fails to build up to much, even when the pace picks up about half way through. Fortunately, once again, as soon as the album starts to drift off the trio manages to draw me back in with the closing track Eternal. Much like the way the album opened, it closes with yet another chaotic 4+ minute onslaught of blast beats and lightning fast guitar riffs, something I can always get behind.

As stated earlier, in no ways does this album bring anything new to the table, but that doesn't mean it fails. If you're a fan of Immortal, or even just enjoy raw and heavy black metal, the album is worth checking out. If Abbath can continue to put out music like this, he'll be fine without Immortal.

Favorite Tracks: To War, Ashes of the Damned, Eternal

Least Favorite Tracks: Root of the Mountain

Rating: 3.5/5

ATGCLVLSSCAP by Ulver

It's hard to classify Norwegian 4-piece band Ulver in any traditional genre. They dabbled in black metal, and their debut Et eeventyr i 5 capitler has become an essential album in the history of the genre. The band has garnered critical acclaim from many a critic while blending genres such as experimental rock, electronica, and many more. The group has even went on to create a collaboration album with drone metal outfit Sunn O))). After a career spanning over two decades, and having already done so much experimentation, where would their latest release take them?

Had I not read up on the album before listening, I never would have guessed that all 12 album tracks were performed live, as free improvisation during the bands 2014 european tour. Not only does the album not sound as if it were recorded live, but it also sounds as it was so well wrote and assembled that I was really truly shocked to find it the origins of the recording.

 From the moment the album kicks off with the very drone inspired piece England's Hidden to some of the nosier more psychedelic cuts like Cromagnosis, the album carries a very similar sound. At times the progression is methodical and slow, at times there's barely any, and yet throughout the 80 minute runtime of the album, you become completely enthralled by the sound that Ulver have managed to create.

The album is principally instrumental, and in fact the only time you hear lead vocalist Kristoffer Rygg lend his voice are on the tracks Om Hanumate Namah, Nowhere (Sweet Sixteen) and Ecclesiastes. On the first of those three tracks, the contribution is very minor, as it's just a simple chanting, sparsely heard during the beginning of the track that ends up echoing for the full 7 minutes of the song, creating a very trance like feel. While the vocal work was a welcomed contribution, it also made for one of the less interesting tracks on the LP in my opinion. Nowhere is easily the most conventional track in the listing, and Rygg's vocals just fail to add much to a cut that would be much more enjoyable without them.

While I do enjoy some of the more drone-y moments of the album, it's really the more instrumentally driven and noisy tracks that keep me coming back to this album. Tracks like the aforementioned Cromagnosis as well as Desert/Dawn are very good examples of that, and because they are set in between some fantastic drone pieces, it really helps showcase the layers and depth on display in these tracks. Ulver makes a great effort on a regular basis to create beautiful lush soundscapes, which is the exact thing that has helped the group reach this level of success across the world.

The album can be summed up with the word experience, because that's exactly what it is. ATGCLVLSSCAP sucks you in, and doesn't let you leave it's confines until it's done with you. Ulver had nothing to prove with the release of this album as they've already done so much in their illustrious career, and yet still, they managed to show us all once again just how creative they are.

Favorite Tracks: Cromagnosis, Om Hanumate Namah, Desert/Dawn

Least Favorite Tracks: Nowhere (Sweet Sixteen)

Rating: 4/5