To say that Uburen‘s 2016 piece Frå Døden Fødes Liv didn’t impress us much would be an understatement. This earlier record foisted a sub-par production upon the unsuspecting listener that was almost painful to endure and – thus – it got brutally ditched by a still young RMR webzine. The band’s 2019 follow-on record And the Mountains Weep also found some tough love and fell through the cracks pretty miserably at the Review Committee’s desk.
So, here we are in early 2023 and Usurp The Throne, Uburen‘s newest concoction, is finally on the menu. Third time’s the charm, right? Or will the review pipe clog up yet again? Throw yer dice.
Well, one thing is certain. Usurp The Throne‘s quality of production indeed improved over the band’s earlier pieces. You’ll now find some fat rotten meat on those formerly scrawny bones – and that’s a good thing. But make no mistake, the band didn’t get rid of that look and feel of down-in-the-pit early ’90s Black Metal with a somewhat forced pagan streak.
And they indeed upped the ante some in the lyrics department. This time, the record won’t be rasping about things like the entrance to Valhalla or good-looking valkyries. Instead, this horde now blatantly calls to Bring Forth Ragnarok. Chaos supreme akin to the nailed god’s apocalypse, nothing less. That’s taking it up a notch. In short, the record sports real Scandinavian Black Metal with loads of tremolo-laden, rough-hewn riffs, typical rasps, and ever-present drum work.
And whilst references to bands like Kampfar ring true to an extent, it is equally true that Uburen‘s offering is still pretty far removed from the powerful oomph the olde masters can muster. The mix never quite moves in for the kill. It’s often that last stroke missing, no ominous soundscapes to punch the fear of Odin into you. No imagined devils poking their heads around dark corners, images that the ritualistic folks are very adept at projecting. Instead, Usurp the Throne makes you drown in a blackened sea of evenly limited rasps, ever-similar guitar work, and a never-ending almost listless procession of blastbeats that somehow fade into the background.
And that’s a pity because all that sameness makes it difficult to pick up the blackened cherries on that pie from hell of theirs. Defiance Towards Futility – for instance – greets you with truly meaty riffing. Or Usurp The Throne, the title, turns out to be a decently constructed BM track with true merits. And, you’ll get anguished screams and dark mutterings here and there that will add atmosphere to this devil’s brew. And they do this with enough gloom to please the doom folks out there. So, the ingredients for stellar blackened fare are all there, only Uburen here didn’t quite mix all that into a powerful concoction too well.
So finally, you probably already guessed it. The RMR crew – yet again – wasn’t particularly smitten with Uburen‘s newest piece. But – Usurp the Throne truly is more refined than the band’s earlier works. There now is some real oomph in this primordial soup of early metal influences. But similar to earlier works, this album sports somewhat bloodless structures when the band’s metal should blow us off our chairs with boundless power. When the drum work should feel like those bearded war axes biting our shields. And the riffs and growls – like that infamous thunder of war – should make us recoil back into our seats.
But that didn’t quite happen that way. Instead, the band served us with 35 minutes of somewhat nostalgic Black Metal that rolls in on a pretty even keel. In other words, Uburen crafted a solid record that – sadly – didn’t quite reach up high enough to usurp that coveted BM throne from the masters of the genre up on that mighty metallic Olympus. Next time, perhaps?
Ed’s note: More Black Metal? Try Kold‘s barebone offering.
Record Rating: 5/10 | Label: Dusktone | Web: Facebook (band)
Release Date: 20 January 2023