1.Intro – Litanies of Bacchus Pt. I 00:29
2.Uhraamo 05:49
3.Color Out of Space 06:47
4.Kuollut 03:15
5.Interlude – Litanies of Bacchus Pt. II 01:05
6.Baptised in Unholy Waters 04:46
7.World Eater 03:13
8.Pagan Altars 04:21
9.Ritual of Six 06:22
Now, having been into the scene for the length of time I have, since the second wave of black metal. Many bands have indeed fell under my radar. Now I’m not claiming to be the messiah of the genre far from it. However to have this band slip by me I am certainly quite stunned. So after having these guys brought to my attention, I’m truly blown away by their release. Having been in circulation since MMXVIII they seem to have been Finland’s best kept secret. With only a demo that was released in MMXIX and now their full length in MMXXII we have to wonder why such a large time gap between the years of inception to the demo and the year of the full length.
So as we draw back the heavy grey skies here in the U.K. we look to see just what the band Licht Des Urteils which translates as (Light of the Judgment) have created with their sophomore album “Uhraamo”. Hailing from Tampere, Pirkanmaa its plain to see these guys waste no time and pull no punches with their sound.
Track 1 “Intro – Litanies of Bacchus Pt. I” starts with what sounds like the darkest Satanic orgy possible. The sound of women moaning and groaning as they seem to be pleasured by the biggest and Unholy of Beasts possible. Screams from the beast ring out and can be heard echoing through the darkest depths of hell’s caves and caverns signalling the arrival of this hell worthy band. If this isn’t an into that says to you that this is set to be a brutal and Unholy album I don’t know what does.
Track 2 Uhraamo and also album title, opens with not one inch of compromise. Its full throttle black metal with a huge punk twist. The vocals aren’t your stereotypical screeches, howls etc. While frantic they are much more within the Punk genre. Aggressive and shouted using either their native Finnish tongue or German, its hard to tell due to some of their titles having no translation, but it really does add to the harshness of this track. It’s extreme to the end, the guitars and drums are frantic in style giving that in your face style. This is 100% punk as fuck playing and I absolutely love it. There are little groove breakdowns throughout proving the band definitely have that playing ability to not just be as raw as possible. However this second track definitely has those moments but the contrast within the closing verses proves that they definitely have the ability to throw in some other tasteful licks and beats. Fusing even some samples into the very last segment this track encompasses absolutely everything you need.
Track 3 “Color Out of Space” opens with that old school spaceship sound from a sci-fi b movie. This complete with the punk drumming almost D beat timing as used by Discharge back in the day. As the guitars slide in we treated to a military style sound or marching vibe. This has a more black metal vibe going on throughout, while not your typical sounding B.M. that more military influenced like later Marduk, Revenge, impiety and Blasphemy to name just a few.
The vocals are now in English, whilst retaining that punk like strain. They almost have that early Max Cavalera style, when he was trying to learn English pronunciations of Brazilian words. It definitely has those little elements of early blackened thrash too, some definite early Sepultura influence on this track especially Schizophrenia era. Its a heavy bass and guitar led track. You can really hear those bass notes popping through the gritty guitar playing. This is a beauty of a track and one that takes you on quite the journey. It certainly peeks and dips in its playing style, going from war torn militia black metal to that of a blackened thrash style. It certainly encompasses a variety of sounds within its just over six minuet length.
Track 4 “Kuollut” is the definite signature black metal track on this album. It’s here we see the vocal range take on that more black metal edge opening with those icy tremolo guitars and blast beats aplenty. This is pedal to the metal, no holds barred blackened thrash metal at its best. I have to give praise to the Drummer SS who also plays in “Coraxul” because his beats lead this track like a madman, from extreme blast beats to these little death metal fills, the man is a machine. This is a real standout track and one that deserves high praise, if just for the sheer musicianship upon it. Its one of the shortest tracks on the album but I feel that’s what gives it that edge.
Track 5 “Interlude – Litanies of Bacchus Pt. II” is the second instalment of this dark and dirty Satanic black orgy with the sound of the beast bestowing atrocities of unknown proportions on its poor unsuspecting victim. This really puts a much darker spin on this record and certainly brings in that level of occultism the band use throughout their sound.
Track 6 “Baptised in Unholy Waters” sees us return to that black metal style of playing with a distorted intro, as the opening sounds like your CD is getting chewed up in the tray, it soon kicks in to that all familiar sounding style of playing. This has that Gorgoroth “Om Kristen og Jødisk Tru” vibe to it. The riffs and the blast beats certainly lean towards the early styles of the band. This is another standout track upon the album. The usual B.M. riffs give way to a much more slower pace in the third verse where the bass can be heard once again, with its clear warm notes before we are thrown right back into the B.M. mire of this 100% Unholy track.
Track 7 “World Eater” literally picks up where track six left off. You could almost have said it was a literal part two to track six. The only noticeable difference is the slower breakdown within the midsection. This however is a welcomed break with some beautiful guitar picking, yet still retaining that raw uncompromising sound. This track soon picks up the pace after the breakdown and the hellish grinding attack is back. This really feels like a album of two halves but one that manages to gel itself together almost seamlessly.
Track 8 “Pagan Altars” sees us almost return to that first wave B.M. sound. Yes early Hellhammer, Bathory era. That beautiful raw yet still punk infused style having come out off the back of the 70’s era. Whilst production is much better due to age of the release, you could still be mistaken for listening to something from the first wave. Again we have those slower moments within this track making it sound both harrowing and hellish at the same time. The blast beats and riffs are fast and choppy and make for the great outro on this second to last track.
Track 9 “Ritual of Six” is the final and last track to the album and its another blackened thrash track. It includes random samples of sounds and is possibly the most evil of them all. A great mixture on here keeps the listener engaged. Vocalist VV is really put to the test here, his screams and his B.M. vocals are pushed to the limits and it’s shown in the later half of the album. This chaotic closing track is as brutal as they come with ferocious riffs and blast beats. Its a great close to a very progressive album.
I have to say this album is indeed certainly a progressive one, as previously mentioned. It literally consists of so many genres it could be classed as a undeterminable genre. It holds all the classic elements within these nine tracks. This album is a monster of all proportions. However genre mixing within the beginning it most certainly finds its way mid way through. Its like after track five they literally found their style and stuck with it. That’s not to say that the other genres they weaved within the tracks weren’t appreciated not by a long shot, its made for a very engaging listen one where no track has a similar sound. All tracks dive in and out with their timing and its quite often the drums and the bass on this release almost steal the show even the vocalist finds his style within this release he starts with that almost punk style then midway through adopts a much more B.M. style. This i feel is a much welcomed break from the norm and makes for a gritty, full throttle, balls to the wall release. If you are looking for a fresh take to a ever changing and evolving style of B.M. then look no further. Licht Des Urteils has you covered.
Hails #Foras #LordOfTheShadows.
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