Strap yourself in, this is one hell of a ride. Urhat is the first born of Roy Westad, aka Illt, and sits within the more extreme side of town when it comes to the metal soundscape. Built around a core of six tracks, Urhat is multi layered and complex from start to finish, mature and intricate with an undertone of passion and hunger with an obvious appetite for the black arts.
Now something this extreme and savage, as much as Westad would probably want it to, doesn’t come unaided, a single soul just wouldn’t be able to conjure up this beast alone, so the duties and aide has been drafted in and includes some huge names within the industry, each bringing an accent, their trademark sound and style, which nestles perfectly within the grooves and dips of the constructed spawn from Westad.
The package is assembled of just six tracks, but each brings a unique take on the fundamental raw and extreme soul which sits beneath the surface. The album is eclectic and injects a blend of death, thrash and doom as well as the obvious Norwegian black metal, and all of these are delivered in a brutal style with a connotation of melody and modernness which begs you to dig dep in order to uncover its beauty. However, once you have aligned yourself to the various layers and depths you will not be disappointed.
The session vocals from Speed Strid of Soilwork fame are gnarly and aggressive, melodic and stunning in equal measures, each harmony and poisoned lyric is spat out with desire and pride and the energy and enthusiasm is a thing of beauty. Dirk Verbueren, from thrash giants Megadeth, keeps the whole album in check with his power and precision on the skins.
The backbone and soul which Verbueren generates is nothing short of mesmerising and is titanium in its authority and dominance, each beat commanding and demanding of every other facet to keep in line with them throughout the whole journey. The strings are also in safe hands throughout and are conjured up by massive heavyweights in the form of Nile mainstay Karl Sanders and Chrome Division guitarist Mr.Damage. the complexity and fragility created is hypnotic and absorbing, attractive and riveting. The pair work in absolute unity and intertwine with each other throughout the whole expedition. All the aspects are seemingly glued together and play off each other from the opening bars of ‘Millennial Judas’ to the closing chords of ‘The End Of All Things’, and my personal highlight of the album, ‘Blood Of The Unbeliever’, is absolutely crunching and bruising. All six tracks are genius in there own right and each sits perfectly on the natural evolution of the album with ease.
This may be the first rodeo for the Norwegian mastermind of Illt but close your eyes and it could be from any ensemble with a well-established and comprehensive background, this is developed and advanced for its years and it is one to sit proudly within the Scandinavian black metal camp for all to witness
(8/10 Phil Pountney)
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