Ur Draugr are from Australia and this is their début EP.
This release is 20 minutes long and features Ur Draugr’s captivating take on Atmospheric Death Metal.
Unseen Golgotha is just under 7 minutes long and opens softly, with some light acoustic guitar guiding the way.
This slowly builds in atmosphere until the crashing guitars and thundering drums enter proceedings. Finally we get pitch-black growls entering the song and the dark atmosphere is ramped up by a factor of ten.
Tense melodies and charismatic music means that this song is an instant revelation.
Up next is the title track The Wretched Ascetic. This serves as the EP’s centrepiece at just over 10 minutes in length.
It’s a churning maelstrom of a song that builds like an oncoming storm with a heavily percussive backdrop and immense rhythms powering it along.
Like the first song, this second track is extremely impressive and ably showcases the band’s aesthetic of organic, atmospheric Death Metal that has some undertones of Black, Post- and Progressive Metal.
The final track on this wonderful début is Sombre Moribund. At 3 minutes in length it’s the shortest track here and serves as a gentle outro to the EP.
If you long for the olden days of classic Opeth but don’t want an Opeth rip-off band then Ur Draugr are the band for you.
This is a hugely impressive release. I can only imagine how good their eventual album will be. Here’s hoping and waiting expectantly.
Wonderbox Metal 