Band:	Uada
Album:	Crepuscule Natura
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	September 2023

01. The Abyss Gazing Back
02. Crepuscule Natura
03. The Dark (Winter)
04. Retraversing The Void
05. Through The Wax And Through The Wane

Swamping us with top quality black metal albums, yet again, 2023 is another far from disappointing year. Well, saying that, let's throw another one your way: how about the famous USBM trio Uada? A band that seemingly gets better with each release, so what can we expect from their highly anticipated Crepuscule Natura?

One of the biggest names currently on the USBM radar today is Portland-based Uada, a trio featuring founding member Jake Superchi (guitars/vocals), Nate Verschoor (bass), and last year's latest addition Josh Lovejoy (drums). Since their formation back in 2014, Uada currently have four releases to their name, and are now presenting the five-tracked Crepuscule Natura. 

Although it's often stated that Uada are a U.S. equivalent to Mgła, now, I personally believe they're more than just a simple copycat act, and have more than established a true name for themselves within the modern black metal scene. There's no denying Mgła have been a main contributor towards the new modern standard approach for what you hear in black metal today, and Uada have undoubtedly taken inspiration from them (in particular, their debut Devoid Of Light), along with countless other black metal acts, such as Non Est Deus and Groza, just to name a few. The style which these bands (including Uada) go by is a simple melodic approach, nothing fancy at all, but still very effective nonetheless, with a great modern production I might add. With Crepuscule Natura, Uada carry on this modern standard, melodic tradition, just as was the case with their previous three releases (those previous three being some of the best the USBM scene has had to offer in recent years). If you want something stripped back, raw, and sinister, turn to early Darkthrone and the like, if you want something more avant-garde with a dissonant approach, turn to bands like Deathspell Omega, and if you want something epically atmospheric, turn to the Tolkien-themed Summoning. 

Perhaps most well known for their breathtaking melodic riffs, tremendous guitar leads, hypnotic rhythms, and impressive guitar tone, Uada even manage to top themselves with Crepuscule Natura. From the opening track, "The Abyss Gazing Back", the riffs are evidently all the more striking, and the guitar tone sounds even more impressive than it's ever been before. Whilst the furious blast beats-cum-rhythmic drumming, and bass lines drive the album forward in a hypnotizing, rhythmic fashion. This is an early taster of what's to come, and if you ask me, it sounds good so far at this early stage. One element that, for me, seems to stand out from the rest, is the vocals. The shrieks have a certain distinctiveness to them, not sounding like an ordinary black metal shrieking vocal performance, but something more. There are several times when it sounds as if there are multiple vocalists featured (there could well be, or maybe it's an echo effect?).

Now, it's rare in black metal that the leads take centre stage above the riffs, but that is the case often on this album. The leads are just as effective and contain just as much melody as the traditional tremolo riffs do, and the tone adds a cosmic otherworldly feel also. I find the lead guitar most striking on the track "Retraversing the Void", where the tremolos, leads, and bass lines are all clearly on the same wavelength, fitting together exceptionally well, with the blast beats helping guide the rhythm along expertly. Thanks to some marvellous quality production, each element is more crystal clear than ever before; nothing seems muddy or overpowering. As for those that prefer a more traditional, raw, and stripped back bare approach, this could perhaps cause a slight issue, as the clean cosmic feel clearly overtakes the dirty, and sinister approach we used to so often with black metal acts of the past.

Obviously there's little originality about the album's structure, for instance "The Dark (Winter)" is a classic case where the tremolo riffs repetitively build-up in a melodic fashion, in a way in which sounds familiar, but for what the instrumentation lacks in originality and technical it certainly makes up for in memorability. The rhythm section remains a powerful force throughout, it teases you, almost even hypnotizes you. Now, what better way to finish the album off than with an epic twelve-minute plus closer? The closing track "Through the Wax and Through the Wane" relentlessly builds up to the point where at any moment you expect it to simply erupt into some spectacular guitar lead or insane scream, but it just keeps going and going. You have to wait three quarters of the way in for the tempo and rhythm to really change, at that point I'm almost sweating with anticipation, expecting my mind to be blown, but instead I feel calm, but satisfied with what I've heard (a strong way to reflect on what I've heard throughout the entire album I suppose). As great as the epic closer is, I don't, however, feel utterly mind-blown by it as much as I expected I would, especially from its fantastic build-up, however, the track itself is still a solid epic that fits in perfectly well with the consistency of the whole album.

All in all, Crepuscule Natura is another great release by Uada, there's simply no way I can deny that from a personal perspective. There's a real sense that the band have done more than enough now to justify why their name and reputation should be mentioned up there with the mighty Mgła, rather than just being considered another total rip-off. Uada have come along way since their humble beginnings, and I truly believe they're on the verge of becoming a big household name in black metal internationally and not just on the USBM scene. Four releases in a row that have gradually become more and more impressive each time is an impressive feat for any metal act, and this only leaves me wondering now, how much longer can they keep this consistency up before they eventually run dry? This release makes me really wonder where they'll go on from here, and judging by their impressive form, I personally believe the best is even yet to come.