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By GOS (Order ov the Black Arts)
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From a more unlikely reach of the globe, a black metal storm is brewing. Not the frostbitten cold of Scandinavia or Greenland, or the snow-laden folkmosphere of Northern America or Russia. No, these stormwinds are not that of ice… but of sand.
Scorching, abrasive, stifling, and with a heaviness of particles of stone, URAEUSES roars from the desert heat of Egypt. A four-piece beast, initially created by Omar Zakria (vocals, guitars, and bass) and Anas Ayman (drums, percussion, and backing vocals) URAEUSES hails from Old Cairo, and brings with them themes of an archaic heritage and serpentine mythos, a tempest manifesting in the debut EP entitled Slithering Through Ancient Catacombs.
‘Fire Dunes’, an introductory track, sounds like the breathing of ancient gods among the slowed, massive metallic crash and rumble of some cosmic gong and chanting synth. This segues perfectly into the first black metal track, ‘Origin of Sand Storms’. I admit that the initial moderate pacing of the drums and unhurried build had me unconvinced at first, but bit by bit URAEUSES layers on elements, indicating that this is indeed a slow burn and not a futile sputter. The first to be introduced is the lead guitar, somewhat subtle at first but pushed to the forefront of attention with a sudden, loud wail just before the halfway point of the song, a move which basically cements it as a central feature of the entire EP. Soon after that a more aggressive double kick is unleashed to support, and we really start to see the potential here. ‘Shedding the Skin’ is a synth instrumental which utilizes some cool sounding echoey bongo strikes, but it would seem more appropriate as a mid-EP interlude since ‘Fire Dunes’ occurred just a track ago.
Things pick up with ‘Into the Depths of Sepulchre’, which almost immediately starts off sounding a fair amount like a more subdued AKHLYS (or AORATOS or NIGHTBRINGER) or, more closely, UK newcomers ARISTARCHOS with a monstrous rhythm-driven inertia spearheaded by that characteristic lead – fans of the aforementioned will know what I’m talking about. This, for me, is a positive thing, helping to ground the band in some sort of larger comparative context within the genre and is just the way that I think about different bands (I do sometimes worry that I fail to hear something ‘for what it is’). At any rate, some of this momentum is interrupted as the track moves forward, but it does give us a chance to focus a bit more on the rasping, scornful vocals… which unfortunately withdraw for the last third of the track, allowing the song to malinger away with a repetitive, slow fade. ‘Chasm of Chaos’ is noted as an intro (apparently an intro to ‘Celestial War of the Underworld’), and contains an eerie synth, but since the instrumentals have appeared every other track thus far, I can’t help but wonder if it wouldn’t have better been served as an outro to the entire EP.
Luckily, ‘Celestial War of the Underworld’ begins with such an explosive promise that it makes the transition sound amazing. Again we have a nod to Alcameth, savage and apocalyptic, but pretty quickly it slows into a more plodding progression. The track goes back and forth in this way, and I’m on the fence whether these more methodical parts are ultimately positive: they give contrast and respite to the track and provide URAEUSES with some of its own identity… but at the same time those more aggressive, epic, catastrophic parts are just so much fucking cooler to listen to. The closer ‘Sacred Emblem on the Crown’ starts off with a rumble, hiss, and rattle and then erupts into the same sort of ferocious bombasticity that at this point I am listening and hoping for. The to-and-fro between annihiliation and moderation again emerges here, but it seems to work better on this track for reasons that I’m having trouble figuring out… but might be because the fucking guitar is just going and the drums are doing some really solid speed transitions throughout. The ending is somewhat abrupt, and I can confirm that this is where an outro could have been used.
All in all, URAEUSES have created an extremely solid EP here with a lot of promise. In terms of production and style, I think they sound great and that the overall mix does well to capture the essence of Egypt and its motifs. Plenty of the sections in all four of the main tracks are downright awesome, but… well, not to overstep my critique, but I almost wonder if they could bolster those meandering sections with more uniquely Egyptian elements, be it the use of specific cultural instruments or something else (things like that cosmic gong, the bongos, and the brief rattling and hissing come to mind) to really give those slower progressions a more pivotal function and make them seem somewhat less arbitrary. To be clear: arbitrary is not the same as unenjoyable, it just seems like there might be room here to add elements which are more unique and particular to what the band is about. Regardless, there is a LOT of talent and potential on display here, and I have no doubt that these boys are fully capable of flexing strong and tightening those serpent coils to create a monster of doom and cataclysm.
Slithering Through Ancient Catacombs is available now.
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