Urfeind -Dauþalaikaz

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Urfeind is a German black metal band led by vocalist and guitarist Skadwaz, who formed the band in 2015, and now the band
returned with their third studio album “Dauþalaikaz” out via Nine to Zero Productions on January 10th, 2025. Urfeind’s approach to songwriting infuses elements from the Norwegian second wave of black metal and modern Finnish black metal bands. Urfeind is an anti-cosmic Black Metal project with a strong devotion to the Thursian path.

The third full-length offers ferocious drumming outbursts driven by catchy rhythm guitars and tremolo melodies in the opening track “Thorns of Madness”. Drawing the cold and mournful melodies of black metal with various tempos and galloping riffs, while in the second track “The Fallen” the sharp guitar riffs and blast beats elevate the musical cohesiveness, and the somber riffs permeate in the mid-paced sections.

Many of the guitar quality convey such a feeling of darkness that seems to be emphasized in the nine tracks, the tremolo riffing and the pounding drums are powerful in providing dynamics to the songs. The rhythm section mainly brings a misanthropic quality to the music, and the main riff in most of the songs fits the scale of the album with the Dark Germanic heathenism themes associated with the lyrics.

Serpent’s Flight” is among the album’s highlight songs, the tremolos, melodies, and vocals add more to the song, especially in the slower tempos focus on creating a hypnotic sensation. The drums keep the tempo flowing to project traditional tremolo pickings like in the opening moments of “Weaving the Abyss”.

The guitars provide excellent melody lines that suit the slower sections, as they immediately grasp your attention; these songs display the guitar melodies. Albeit slow and often monotonous, Urfeind conveys an undeniable atmosphere throughout the album.

The menacing riffs maintain the same melancholy in other tracks like “Hymn of Corruption” and “Nine to Zero.” Instead of the black metal screeches, vocalist Skadwaz’s approach is more savage. Therefore, the album does not offer much, but Urfeind embodies the misanthropic spirit of black metal.

The style of Urfeind deviates from most of the German black metal bands, but the trio still manages to create some catchy moments on “Void”. The tremolo pickings are another element that adds aggression to this, though the style of the music is mainly raw and melodic, the guitars and the drums create a wall of sound with subtle melodies that can be heard in the background.

The vocal’s harshness does not change much in the rest of the songs, and you can hear the cold misanthropy in the tone of the vocals in “Anthem of Decay”. There are two tempo shifts in most of the songs, but it’s clear that Urfeind’s musical structure relies on the cold atmosphere of the guitars.

The bass interplay is also audible as it provides hooks to the mid-tempo, and the somber pitch of the music is adjusted to suit the cold and mournful vibe of the music; this sense of darkness is evoked in the final track “Inner Rampage”.

REVIEW SCORE

  • Music / Songwriting 7/10
  • Vocals / Lyrics 7/10
  • Mix / Production 7/10
  • Artwork & Packaging 7/10
  • Originality 7/10
7

“Dauþalaikaz” is a raw black metal album full of catchy guitar lines and hooks, and the third album offers some quality from Skadwaz.

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