Aurum by Urarv is indeed an intriguing listen. The outfit’s debut album, whilst taking a largely black metal approach, it also brings several other different approaches to the table, such as avantgarde, psychedelia and even a few doomy elements on occasion. It means you never quite know what to expect from the band and it keeps you on the edge of your seat as a result.
There’s a tremendous amount of drive to the music, with Urarv getting things moving almost immediately. Aurum begins with a soft and slower-paced simplistic introduction which adds a great bit of atmosphere before the full band joins in for effect just after the one-minute mark, and the crushing heaviness will take your breath away. It’s so powerful and really helps the album to leave an impression on you as a result, especially with the added momentum that gets things fully moving.
One of the strongest tracks is fifth inclusion, Guru. The echoing guitars at the start add a tremendous eerieness to the song and the vocals on this one are wonderfully dark, the deep grunting approach pairing up well with the higher snarls and half-spoken lines. Additionally, the frenetic guitars underneath add a powerful urgency to it all and everything just pairs together well.
Aurum may not be for everyone, but it’s a damn great listen and hopefully the start of something great for Urarv.
8.5/10
