Fronted by former Dawn of Ashes singer Krisof Bathory, Urilia is set to unleash their debut EP ‘The Adversarial Light’ on August 11th. Featuring members from other extreme metal acts like As Summer Dies and Demona Mortiss, this new group is not screwing around and looks primed to wreak havoc upon the death metal scene.
I was not familiar with the bands that were dissected and subsequently morphed into the demented atmospheric death metal powerhouse that is now Urilia but that doesn’t matter now because all that truly does matter – is ‘The Adversarial Light’. This upcoming EP, although short, is a nice glimpse into the future of Urilia, who look ready to unleash a demonic new wave of extreme metal across the land. Bathory’s ferocious vocals are the meat of this satanic sandwich and the atmospheric, moody and at times terrifying music that accompanies him is more than satisfying.
I’m a sucker for a good Norwegian death metal romp so if you’re also into Dimmu Borgir then I suggest you give Urilia a fair chance to sink into that brain. Just be warned however because once you let ‘The Adversarial Light’ dawn upon you, it’s only going to leave you wanting more. If anything this EP may be too much of a tease. My only criticism is that the intro was a little lengthy and by the time it was over, I simply needed to hear more of Urilia and there was nothing to be found. That’s a sign of great things to come, more so than a critique or knock on the band.
The lead single ‘I Am Nephilim’ is my favorite of the tracks found here and a great way to familiarize yourself with Urilia before it’s too late. I see no reason as to why they won’t make a huge name for themselves by this time next year and I look forward to a full length album now that my pallet has been tantalized by their unique brand of spacey and evil death metal that mashes up European symphonic influences but still sounds distinctly American in the end.
Rating: [star rating=”4.5″]