ALBUM REVIEW
URARV – Nychta Psychis
Experimental, eccentric, yet occasionally disjointed black metal.
One of the more distinctive voices to emerge from the Norwegian black metal scene in recent years, URARV return after a three-year gap with "Nychta Psychis", a five-track release that combines the traditional ferocity of Norwegian black metal with punk and thrash influences, unconventional vocal choices, and psychedelic electronic textures. Founded by ALDRAHN in 2003, the band’s third full-length runs for 32 minutes and 39 seconds, pushing beyond familiar black metal conventions while also revealing the limits of that pursuit.
Opening track 'Dødheimsgard' draws on the sharp guitar tones and hard-edged riffing of second-wave Norwegian black metal. As the song progresses, the bass develops a character of its own rather than simply following the guitars, bringing a different kind of momentum to the music. Punk and rock ’n’ roll influences become more apparent in the middle sections, giving the rhythm a looser, almost danceable swing, while high-pitched keyboard accents introduce a more alien and unsettling atmosphere as the track unfolds. The shift between traditional black metal aggression and a freer rhythmic approach provides a useful starting point for understanding URARV’s musical identity.
The title track, 'Nychta Psychis', opens with clean guitars and near-spoken vocals. As the distortion builds, electronic effects and ALDRAHN’s unconventional vocal outbursts continually redirect the song. His performance is not defined by aggression alone; spoken delivery, distorted tones, theatrical inflections, and sudden eruptions all feature prominently. Although this variety reinforces the music’s unpredictable character, the vocals occasionally become so theatrical that they undermine the tension the song has established. Unexpected exclamations and phrases with humorous undertones introduce a different mood into the otherwise dark atmosphere. The unconventional choices are undeniable, but they do not all contribute equally to the music’s overall coherence.
'When Consciousness Identifies With Matter It Is Lost' explores the relationship between forceful guitars, fast drumming, and psychedelic passages in greater depth. The intensity generated by the blast beats recedes in the middle section, making room for synthesised sounds with cosmic overtones. This transition demonstrates that the album is not built solely around speed and aggression. The electronic textures placed alongside traditional black metal riffs function as an independent force, redirecting the compositions rather than merely embellishing them. The juxtaposition of strange, VOIVOD-esque melodic movements with the raw aggression of classic black metal also gives the track a distinctive character. Even so, the transitions between these contrasting sections do not always feel equally natural.
'Operation Genocide' represents the album’s more direct and aggressive side. Dissonant guitar riffs, lively drumming, and furious vocals form the foundation, while punk and thrash influences keep the music moving. Unexpected melodic turns and unconventional sound effects interrupt the hard-edged riffing, preventing the track from settling into a conventional black-thrash approach. Yet the gap between presenting a succession of musical ideas and shaping them into a cohesive structure occasionally becomes apparent here, too. URARV’s willingness to push boundaries is intriguing, but not every surprise makes the composition more effective.
Closer 'Youniverse' makes a more convincing effort to bring the album’s various elements together. Nimble guitar passages with punk and heavy metal influences collide with heavier sections, while high-pitched melodies and science-fiction-inspired sounds expand the track’s atmosphere. The unsettling ambience that emerges more prominently towards the end restores a sense of tension that occasionally dissipates elsewhere on the album. The bass is important here as well; by maintaining its own course instead of simply following the guitars, it enriches the music’s rhythmic and melodic texture. 'Youniverse' consequently offers a more persuasive demonstration of how URARV’s disparate approaches can coexist within a single composition.
Beyond ALDRAHN’s distinctive vocal character, a defining feature of this five-track release is the band’s approach to combining traditional black metal instrumentation with a range of other influences. The sharp, raw guitar tone associated with second-wave Norwegian black metal remains prominent, but the mobile bass lines, psychedelic synthesizers, and punk-derived rhythmic sensibilities prevent the music from being confined to a single tradition. There are points of convergence with the experimental period of DØDHEIMSGARD, the shifting musical language of ARCTURUS, and the unconventional structural choices of VED BUENS ENDE. These similarities do not entirely erase URARV’s own identity; ALDRAHN’s vocal delivery and the music’s sudden changes in direction remain distinguishing features. Nevertheless, the album’s experimental approach does not reach a territory wholly unexplored by black metal.
The central problem with "Nychta Psychis" is not a lack of ideas, but how effectively those ideas are controlled and brought together. Across the five tracks, URARV move between ferocity, psychedelic atmosphere, punk energy, and theatrical vocals. At times, these contrasts become meaningful parts of a coherent whole; at others, the band becomes too caught up in its own eccentricities. The album’s running time of roughly 33 minutes makes this inconsistency more apparent. Despite the songs being substantial in length, some musical ideas veer off in another direction before they have fully developed.
On their latest recording, URARV manage to incorporate punk, thrash, and psychedelic elements into black metal without abandoning its familiar darkness and ferocity. Yet the distinction between being unconventional and achieving genuine musical cohesion is not maintained with equal clarity throughout the album. "Nychta Psychis" reveals the band’s eccentric character and compositional potential, but it could have been a more effective work had its experimental impulses been subjected to a stricter editorial filter.
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