Uada: Devoid of Light (2016)

The Uada concert a couple months ago turned out to be one of my favorite concerts I have attended in quite some time.  I thoroughly enjoyed each of the bands so much that I decided to buy an album from each of them.  Wormwitch and Cloak will be coming soon.  From Uada, I picked up the band's debut album which I was surprised to see still available at their merch table.

Uada seems a bit more influenced by a combination of the Polish black metal scene (particularly groups like Mgła) and the more melodic black metal bands from Sweden (Dissection, Lord Belial, Naglfar).  Their music is cold, but has some impressive melodies weaving their way through the dark and cold atmosphere.  Most of the songs are structured around one or two main riffs and layer solos, drumming and the gruff vocals on top.  But this relative simplicity works for Uada because it makes the songs catchy as hell.  The groove that Uada locks into certainly helps as well.

The last two songs are the big highlights.  The first three songs are fine, but nothing really special, but Uada really gets going on the second half, starting off with the terrific "Our Pale Departure" and then continuing with the neck-breaking "Black Autumn, White Spring".  I remember the latter quite well from the concert and was blown away by it then.  It absolutely slays, particularly the second half.

This is Uada's debut album and it was a terrific initial release.  Uada has made a lot of noise among the American black metal scene and this album shows that the hype is deserved.  They are even better in concert.