Úlfarr 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 The Ruins of Human Failure

Band: Úlfarr
Title: The Ruins of Human Failure
Label: Purity Through Fire / Worship Tapes
Release date: 12 December 2021
Country: England
Format reviewed: High-quality Digital Recording

Úlfarr is an underground Black Metal band hailing from Cumbria, England, and it’s been around since 2011, releasing a few demos, live albums, splits and 2 EPs until today. This review is about their recently released second EP, 25 minutes of cold and furious Black Metal in its first half, and a bit more atmospheric stuff the remaining minutes. It’s been my first encounter with the band and I’m really pleased!

Sometimes simplicity is a win. No need to go through intricate riffs or complicated guitar playthroughs, just choose the simple path and it will be ok. And this is what happens with “The Ruins of Human Failure”: first four tracks are quite simple, plain riffs are repeated from start to finish in a kind of cathartic style along with blasting drums most of the time, and it works! If the intention was to express some raw, cold and visceral Black Metal, then congrats!, ‘cause they really achieved this. Vocals are bleak, with a desperate tone that adds an extra layer of icy cold bitterness to the whole.

Fifth track, “Forgotten by Time”, is a different thing. It’s the longest piece, more than eight minutes and a half. It starts with a very atmospheric passage, in a slower tempo, but still using that cold guitar tone, and vocals here acquire more aggressiveness, the despair they contain is almost unbearable… It’s a great work! Drums go a bit faster about half the track, and again this is not about a lot of variations, but as I’ve said before, it works. Last track is a repetitive instrumental section, it’s called “Cold in Death” and in fact it is a cold piece, only guitars and it’s as if they were mourning. Yeah… that’s a finale with a bleak atmosphere due to a neverending lament. 

This EP distills fury and desolated atmosphere in equal measure, I give it 7,5/10   Sílvia

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7,5/10 Victory is possible!
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