Three years beyond their visit to the fourth-successive and twilight-natured dimension, our protagonist posits their source of self-resurrection beyond possession and express the depths of the ego-death that’d been necessary for their purification. Reconnected teeth-to-tail in ouroboric rebirth the strident haunt we capture Portland, Oregon-based black metal quartet Uada within here appears resolute, determined to reclaim and redefine the identity forged thus far. Indirectly acknowledging the cyclic nature of existential awareness available to a lifelong pursuit of introspection the artist emphasizes both depressive ardor and the rabid yet sophisticate language of melodic black metal as a primed form of heavy metal’s emotional connectivity. ‘Crepuscule Natura‘ expectedly matches the blazing wit of high sentience with artfully melodic glean, knowing themselves (chaff and else) better within each dimensional rift conjured, this being a cumulative thought at the behest of tried resolve. Where we land is a realm of potent economy of statement in elaborate arm-swinging prose, a deeper-dreaming rip through the signature tenets outlined by the artist thus far while building further expression from the chilling crags of those foundations.

Uada formed circa 2014 from the mind of vocalist/guitarist Jake Superchi (Ceremonial Castings) and members of Infernus with the clear goal of something new, their own vision of melodic black metal rooted in the emotive froth of the early Swedish movement alongside modernity most would associate with the early 2010’s era of post-metalfication. At the time it was a much smaller niche and a surprisingly brilliant act to stir up in the Pacific Northwest. Their debut full-length (‘Devoid of Light‘, 2016) was an instant hit for my own taste, making it onto my Best Albums of 2016 at #22 not only for its clear tribute to early-to-mid 90’s Swedish melodic black metal but also showing some hints of the Immortal and Inquisition shades of rock and traditional metal in their work. That record has never failed me on approach, still washes over me with a certain numbness that I’ve rarely found beyond ~1997 penned works. Their follow-up, a second LP (‘Cult of a Dying Sun‘, 2018), which mirrored back a dark dimension predictable garnered a favorable review from me at the time, featuring a different drummer’s style and a harried push yet it was better received for its deeper harmonization of the lead guitars per Superchi and James Sloan where their focus had been on memorable songwriting which eclipsed the maudlin romanticism and heavy metal upscaling of the debut. Less traditional but still incensed in an equally beautiful way, I’d certainly encountered black metal fans who’d snubbed them at the time but there was a certain magic energy and intensity to that second record that’d come to be part of Uada‘s trademark, at least in the jumbled recesses of my mind. It is important to revisit those first two albums in context today if only for the sake of the artist suggesting that ‘Crepuscule Natura‘ finds a collective self-image which includes the fire of those first two albums but also the bigger change that came a few years later.

A welcomed possession to start and a soul-scouring great work resultant (per my review at the time of release) the breakthrough beyond Uada‘s beginnings came with the glorious double LP ‘Djinn‘ (2020), the point where the band had found their station in moderne black metal. It was however also a point of burning skies and peak pandemia which delayed the full road testing of those songs and left plenty of time to rethink, strategize and release from the daimonian grip that’d made that album possible. As a response to the band’s previous album and a feat inclusive of the greater intent of the band ‘Crepuscule Natura‘ remains quite accessible in the way that their third album had with its detailed longer-form pieces and heavy use of rock melody to craft depth of composition yet they’ve just as well kept it all more succinct and occasionally strike on the blazing speed of earlier releases.

My mind recalls the refrains at the end of album opener “The Abyss Gazing Back” first, one small detail in an elaborate piece which reaches for the alluring melodic hand of the slower pieces on ‘Triarchy of the Lost Lovers‘ for its voice on exit, striking in sombre step away from its most heated point of bristling and riff-swinging movement around ~3:22 minutes (or, halfway) in. At this point these events should feel like a direct follow-up to what the band’d done on ‘Djinn‘ and this is a valid description as their they’ve not cast away the exciting and dramatic voice gained from those sessions but we do find (literal) expansion of Superchi‘s vocals to deathly growls, rasping guttural wrath, and hymnal harmonization around the edges. Likewise a quick dip into the lyrics reveals both conflict and nostalgia, self-referential exploration as the path reveals itself inward rather than toward the dark or light.

The title track (“Crepuscule Natura”) finds Uada blazing through their own melodious form of black metal, still expanding in scope beyond Swedish/Polish black metal tenets now in the heavy rock/heavy metal spectrum (~3:56 minutes into the piece) for interest to the point that their work still scales in comparison to post-Dissection guitar revelation and the far less frequent Mgła comparisons today but expands upon their own concoction, leaning into a harder-hit pace. Interest in post-black/atmospheric black metal melodicism early on in their discography is extant here and there but not in such a typical way, relegating it to the odd guitar melody rather than any too outsized movements. Otherwise the heavy rocking moments on the title track aren’t out of left field here and this continues with the Immortal inspired ride-out of “The Dark (Winter)” where an epic heavy metal stride and a commanding lead inspire a brisk and vitalizing listen even if the bug-eyed listener will note our arrival at the mid-point has come already on this five song record; At this point I’d get the sense that the tunnel vision of the band was necessarily shattered to make this release possible, that this album intends a personal foray, or, a self-actualizing pursuit which identifies and features the major traits (be they swinging rock solos, or dark metal melodies) of Uada in one elegantly ordered experience.

Much of what I could state holistically in view of ‘Crepuscule Natura‘ would echo the major arguments I’d made for the previous album being an ambitious and emboldened work which steps away from the ‘post-music’ edge and instead strikes at its own vision of tunefulness. I’d just as well emphasize the production values being further refined to suit this approach on this fourth album as the ambition of the songcraft leans into memorable rhythm/lead guitar interplay which is more pointed, often swinging forth with its melodic sensibilities beyond the busier hands of ‘Djinn‘. Sure, comparing this release to an hourlong double LP isn’t entirely fair but these five songs have smartly considered what was so engrossing and special about the formatting of earlier releases which were similarly cut into fewer statements. This means that each and every piece counts, even the rambling and kicking-along road burner “Retraversing the Void” a piece with an opener a post-hardcore fan might appreciate just as well as it connects into the ride of the verses and the wailing leads that spark up along the path; The lyrics take a tone of resolve, realization and wisdom beyond the searching language of the first half, particularly as we push beyond “Retraversing the Void” into ~12 minute closer “Through the Wax and the Wane”, a piece which takes a similarly ‘laid back’ approach beyond its initial striding blast and roaring vocal, all tension built is essentially released and tumultuously dissipated beyond its first third and the short blasting refrain a few moments later. At this point it would be fair to say that Uada‘s fourth album is their most atmospheric and sombre release to date, that the second half balances out the cracking start of the album with an assured yet extended point of exit beyond its core realization.

The multi-layered slipcase which windows artwork from the maestro Kris Verwimp echoes the level of craft the band’s label brought to ‘Djinn‘, a beautifully curated form with a deep black and purple palette and a Vedic-inspired vision of creator and comptroller with phases and fates in hand(s) which is decidedly different than the prior release but yields a fitting image/visual experience not only for Uada but for ‘Crepuscule Natura‘ as it rebirths the singularity so to speak. All signs point to a new high standard set for the band and their releases though it does not feel like a leap beyond the past, moreso a leap back into the changed self which is not only a very approachable and appreciably melodic listen but one which still remembers the underground ‘edge’ and inspiration with which the original idea sprang forth. As a longtime fan I’d found the album palatable first, potently stated second, and decidedly satisfyingly textural in terms of its tonal variety without becoming anxietous in its overall level of detail. Perhaps nothing so strikingly new from the artist but the work has been done here to create something which feels revived, inspired in its concoction of dramatism and easier-flung spiritus. A very high recommendation.

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