_ _______ _ ...:... _ _______ _ ___ / .:::::::::::. \ ___ | / .. (:::::::::::::) .. \ | | . .:::::.`:::::::::::'.:::::. . | | .::.. `:::.::':::`::.:::' ..::. | _ _______ | .::' ::::':::::`:::: `::. | _______ _ \\ | | :: `' ::':`:: `' :: | | // \ | | `:. .::' . `::. .:' | | / . | | .::::::..::::' ... `::::..::::::. | | . | | `:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::' | | .... | | `:' `::::: :: :: :::::' `:' | | .... | ' | : `. ': :: :: :: :: :` .' : | ` | |.....: . .......: :: :: :: :: : ...... . : ....| . ...................: : :: :: :: :: : : ................. . _____________:_____________ _____________:_____________ _ ___\` __ /_\` _______/_\` __ _/_\` /___ _ // __ / (/ ___/ (/ _ (/ /_______/\ _ _ /_________ ___________ ______/\ _ ______________/\__/_ _ \\\\\_________\__/\_________\__/\_____/\_____/\____________/f3!/// - -\-\-----------\__/----------\__/-------\_____/---------------/-/- - - -------------------: : :. ..:: :: . :------------------ - : : :......: :: :` ': :: : .....: : : ___ _ | | : ` ' : | | _ ___ _\---------- : | -------- : B E R C : -------- | : ----------/_ /_\ . : . ..:.. ..:.. . : . /_\ /// . . : : . . \\\ /: :\ /:: Artist :: UADA ::\ :: Album :: Devoid of Light :: :: Year :: 2021 :: :: __ _ _ __ :: -:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:- :: \ / :: :: . Genre :: Black Metal Source :: CDDA . :: :: Label :: Hellion Records R.date :: 18.04.2022 :: _::__ Cat.nr. :: HEL1501 Size :: 62,7 MB __::_ ::// \\:: ::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\:: :: :: /: Encoder :: LAME 3.100 -V0 :\ ..: Bitrate :: avg. 258kbps : . . Quality :: 44,1kHz/Joint-Stereo . . . Website :: __ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __ .\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////. +/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+ /: . : : . :\ /:: ::\ :: 01. Natus Eclipsim 06:20 :: :: 02. Devoid of Light 05:57 :: :: 03. S.N.M. 05:14 :: :: 04. Our Pale Departure 06:49 :: :: 05. Black Autumn, White Spring 09:33 :: :: ------- :: .. >> 33:53 min .. __ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __ .\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////. +/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+ /: . : : . :\ /:: ::\ :: :: :: ut of nowhere and featuring an impressive lineup comes Uada :: :: from Oregon and their debut album Devoid of Light. :: :: Masterminded by Jake Superchi and James Sloan Uada has :: :: proven with their debut that theyÆre one of the most :: :: promising new bands in black metal. :: :: :: :: In their debut they play a style of melodic black metal :: :: inspired by the greats like Dissection and Sacramentum but :: :: with musical compositions that are much more layered and :: :: complex that makes Uada stand out from other melodic black :: :: metal artists. ThereÆs a very strong sense of dynamic :: :: compositions and raw brutality that come together in a very :: :: pleasing way for anyone thatÆs interested in this more :: :: melodic style of black metal. The standout is the dual :: :: guitar work by the bandÆs cofounders Sloan an Superchi, :: :: their riffs and dark melodies carry the lion share of :: :: making the album so exciting, displaying excellent skill in :: :: switching between aggressive tremolo picking and hooks that :: :: are equal parts catchy and complex without sacrificing the :: :: atmosphere they set out to create with ease. The drumming :: :: and bass work while not as strong as the guitars manage to :: :: also do a good job in holding each song together and :: :: SuperchiÆs howling vocals give the album that extra layer :: :: of darkness but on top of that, Superchi is able to deliver :: :: more than just shrieks, his vocal work is very varied, :: :: going from cold shrieks, to echoing howls, to death metal :: :: like growls and even Celtic Frost-esque grunts. The final :: :: result are performances that are perfectly complemented, :: :: nothing feels wasted or buried here and each performer does :: :: their job excellently. :: :: :: :: But that is not all, aside from the excellent performances, :: :: the album is also a very rewarding experience in that for a :: :: small package itÆs able to offer variety in its music, itÆs :: :: not just the standard blast beats and tremolo picking of :: :: black metal with more melody, as mentioned before the :: :: musical compositions are very dynamic, switching from :: :: aggressive speed to a much more somber mid pace with ease, :: :: the time signatures are also very varied but whatÆs more :: :: important here is how the band plays around with many times :: :: and rhythms but still manage for their album to a cohesive :: :: whole, and are even able to mix their sound with other :: :: genres with ease and without feeling disjointed, the :: :: excellent second to last track ôOur Pale Departureö has a :: :: very doomy intro riff which then leads to a deluge of cold :: :: and haunting chaos before going again into a doom metal :: :: like bridge and itÆs a seamless transition. :: :: :: :: However, as good as this album is in its music and the :: :: general performances one thing that keeps it from being :: :: better is its production, now, for black metal, a rough :: :: production is a must or serves the purpose of keeping the :: :: authenticity of the music but in here the production :: :: hinders the albumÆs music, thereÆs a bit too much reverb :: :: that makes the guitars sound muted in places, itÆs not the :: :: worst production in the world but a good mixing and some :: :: mild polish couldÆve made this album sound much better. :: :: Another thing worth noting is that while Uada have a sound :: :: that can be considered theirs, you can tell they wear their :: :: influences in their sleeves as indeed the music is very :: :: reminiscent of melodic black metal bands like Sargeist, the :: :: aforementioned Dissection and of course, the band Uada gets :: :: constantly compared to, Mgla. That being said, this is :: :: their debut album and as such itÆs not going to be :: :: completely original and thereÆs enough of the bandÆs unique :: :: sound to make it their own. :: :: :: :: . _ _ . :: \: :. \\ ___________ . ___________ // .: :/ __\____ :: ____ ___\ _ / BERC : 2022 \ _ /___ ____ :: ____/__ \\\f3! :: \\\ __ _/_________i_________\ /___/ /// :: cRO/// \ :: :\-\___________\_ ___ / _ _/___________/-/: :: / :: | . . _ _ _/ __/ . \_ _ _ . . | :: : :::::::: | | \\\\\/ _______\____|\ \///// | | :::::::: : :: | | -\-\/____/-------------\____\/-/- | | :: :: | | \ :|: / | | :: : : | . ` ::: ' . | : : . . | : ::: : | . . | :::....:::....::: | : ::::::::::::::::: : . :::''``:::''``::: . : ::: : . ::: . .:. :