Urzeit - Anmoksha

By Matt Hinch. Back in August Gilead Media released Yodh by Mizmor. That blackened doom mindfuck was the work of the man known as A.L.N.. He's also a member of the equally excellent Urzeit; whose debut, Anmoksha takes a different approach to black metal

By Matt Hinch.

Art by H.V. Lyngdal.

Back in August Gilead Media released Yodh by Mizmor. That blackened doom mindfuck was the work of the man known as A.L.N.. He's also a member of the equally excellent Urzeit; whose debut, Anmoksha takes a different approach to black metal but with the same devastating effects. Rather than soaking the listener in despair, misery, etc. Urzeit gathers up a fury and thrusts it forth under roiling skies to spread like an unstoppable cancer.

In general the tempos here are light years ahead of (much of) Yodh but let's stop comparing the two and focus on just how dynamic Anmoksha is regardless of personnel. Throughout the album we're subjected to an onslaught of razing black metal that bleeds a raw energy and a general lo-fi, fuzzy feel that still “pleases” the ear. Far from formulaic, Urzeit play with tempos and volume from front to back to a degree that it does become expected but not unwelcome. Blast beaten rage sprays blood from severed necks on the title track only to drop into a Darkthrone-esque groove that loosens the noose and then goes further still into a slogging cadence as if all the fight has been drained and all that's left is lament and longing.

Sonically Urzeit encapsulate audio carnage; gnashing, pounding and flaying with reckless abandon right through to slow, painful torture and every corrosive second should be relished. Dark atmosphere and uncompromised misanthropy ride on the back of an ever-present driving pulse of muscular percussion. It pushes the listener to the edge of a cliff where it takes only the slightest nudge to send them to their doom. A nudge that is most often the psyche-scarring vocals.

Hoarse bellows and deathly growls squeeze tight upon your chest, threatening to cave in your ribcage wherein your heart gets ripped out and devoured with a feral remorselessness. But as those liquid rasps and cavernous roars cause one to cower in fear it is the ear-piercing pterodactyl screeches that truly ice the blood and trigger the desire for escape. On a few instances they're enough to stop the heart completely. Truly terrifying.

As the title track sets up the dynamic of Anmoksha in the album's early movements, the closing seizure-inducing episode (“Entitiksha”) will leave you entirely spent. It features the most harrowing screams on the album, fluid and explosive tempo changes that leave nothing to be desired through complete annihilation and a slow burning denouement bringing you down from the climactic cacophony.

Anmoksha lives on chaos, fear, and darkness. The icy black metal in its veins infects the mind as blood is let, churning with untreatable insanity. From beginning to end Urzeit put forth the raucous and powerful “old school” black metal more in line with the second wave than their American contemporaries. Anmoksha is a scowling, sinister beast. Remorseless and devoid of compassion. It takes no prisoners and expects no glory. It is pure hatred for the pretty side of life given the power to destroy through ancient and evil forces. Unstoppable, deceptively catchy and relentless, Anmoksha is worthy of your sacrifice.