‘This band could be England’s answer to Swiss legends, Knut… Urzah are riff-hungry wolves in search of a drove of hares for supper,’ said Scream Blast Repeat of the group’s 2024 debut. Now, the Bristolians are back with their second offering, and it serves as their cathartic successor to the roaring volcano that was The Scorching Gaze. But don’t be fooled by this contrasting mindset. A Tranquil Void is as heavy as their first record and even more expansive.
They start ‘At the Mouth of the Cave’ with folk phrasing fed through a low gain pedal and the violent accents from the second guitar marking the beginning and end of each bar. It reveals the secret to this band: their mystifying music has a hard truth running through it that’ll swallow you up if you’re unprepared. Listen how Ed Fairman shouts each word into the microphone like a man with bamboo straws under his fingernails. Not to be outdone, the stubborn one-chord chugs are thicker than concrete.
Why people associate this group with stoner metal is a mystery. Surely, ‘The Call Beneath’ is muscular post-metal for the curious white-collar man who realises that his life is devoid of spirituality. Here, the quartet double down on the crispy palm-muted licks and crushing kick-snare combinations like Thou cleaned up by Terry Date at the mixing desk. Let’s be clear: Urzah know how to lay down the riffs. The plectrums love nothing better than to tug at the strings like the boys in Rwake.
It’s obvious at ‘Infernal Star I’ that the key to this album’s appeal is its urgency and consistent agitated tempo. Fans of the early Mastodon records know what this means: when Urzah write songs, they have crumbling ice caps and mountain peaks in mind. They want their audio ravishing to rumble the physical matter of our planet. Drums thump away, guitars burn under fuzzy distortion, vocals roar into the void. And yet the melody at the heart of this music cannot be overlooked either. Urzah make the best use of two axemen by playing divergent parts, both of which search for an equilibrium between high and low register. More important is the way they remember the spirit of rock in this demonstration of might. There’s something wrong with you if you’re not stabbing at an imaginary air guitar for most of ‘Infernal Star II’. The only thing that may stop you is the urge to imitate Ed Fairman’s cathartic roar with your arms spread out like a Yautja predator preparing to charge at a grizzly bear (see the 2022 film, Prey).
Side B is confident enough to steer away from the awesome presence of the first four songs and into a contemplation built around clean arpeggios and a hazy singing voice that always stays in tune and in focus. Then, it’s back to scaling the peaks and holding the guitars like engineering tools that can carve the landscape to fit man’s needs. A fragile backing vocal works well with Fairman’s ferocious barking for ‘In the Mouth of the Wolf’. The guitar timbres come to the surface like an aurora during the solo as the hands of the rhythm underneath slide between the chords. What dazzling shapes can you see imprinted on your eyes as you look into the lunar eclipse? Which muscles twitch when you absorb the drop-tuned riffs in your bones? How many hairs stand up on your neck during the moments where tensions fall and rise again?
The reverberating slash of the guitars in closing effort, ‘Entwined, Twisted Roots of Chaos’ wraps the low-volume female voice in a blanket of warmth from the encroaching permafrost. Close your eyes and it feels like you’re in a secluded hut with the Cocteau Twins, listening to Mastodon. Urzah know when to ruminate and when to rip off the body armour, and they understand that dynamics should be unpredictable and monumental when they reach for the sky.
Kirk Houghton
Verdict
Release Date: 05/06/2026
Record Label: APF Records
Standout tracks: The Call Beneath; Infernal Star II; Entwined, Twisted Roots of Chaos
Suggested Further Listening: Mastodon – Emperor of Sand (2017), Urne – Serpent & Spirit (2021), Die like Gentlemen – Die like Gentlemen (2026)