A new abomination rises from the ashes off the sweet, shinning streets of sunny LA bringing forth ancient underground doctrines. A new wave and breed of extreme metal engraved in the Luciferian path and inspired by the works of Michael W. Ford. Scene veteran Kristof Bathory has taken his new bands philosophy of destroy to create, quite literary. Laying Dawn of Ashes to rest and moving forward to create Urilia. Their debut EP is a blasting, bombastic opening statement of dark spirituality, left hand path beliefs and underworld manifestations that could only come from Hollywood.
There’s a more real life, extreme aspect to the band, not only in its pronounced hybrid nuances but also in the message they bring hither. Bathory and brood have taken influence and inspiration from the Euro extreme underground and the US metal scenes. It’s a wicked, unabashed embrace of occult ideology and mythos with biblical bedlam, leading by example down the left hand path reaching out a blackened hand of support, offering knowledge of self-empowerment.
The sounds recorded on The Adversarial Light (and those possibly detected on EMFs) are a massive symphonic cacophony of unholy creative blood-letting this side of a Cradle of Filth, Fear Factory and Dimmu Borgir conspiracy on the same record after a ritual performance. Its music brought to you by the dark decadent minds influenced from the drops of Poe’s ink to the art of HR Giger. The Adversarial Light brings the high class haunts and tension of a black masquerade to a sweaty, loud, slamming mosh pit.
Lyrically Urilia takes a more reality based approach diving into non-mainstream esoteric disciplines and topics exploring music through extreme metal vs the heavy fantasy, industrial vibe of the singer’s former band. Though the music still conjures visions of Halloween and what gothically-morbid, pretty things happen after midnight under the full moon. The band also features ex-members of As Summer Dies and Demona Mortiss with Bathory on vocals, Grey and Paris Giraud on guitars, Angel Dies on bass and female vocals, Bahemoth on keyboards with Levi Xul beating everyone to hell on drums.
“The Adversarial Light” (featuring Michael W Ford’s incantation ritual to the watchers) is a spiraling tunnel of mind-warping noise as spoken dialogue turns into demonic diatribe. Somber, foreboding rain drops fall on cobblestone pavement as orchestra’s play the storms haunting mosaic. Madness fills the night air from the footsteps of a psychopathic mind, seduced by the desire to stalk. The music and atmosphere change like a prized gem thrown through shattered glass with bombastic drums and keys as the voice is slowed, dragged deeper into darkness.
“I am Nephilim” conjoins heavy, trudging proto-thrash, industrial damming elements and death metal vocals with a Euro black influence. Old gears are greased up with Fear Factory cyber lube as rust flies off and the old machine screams out God like rebirth and resurrection. Metallic mechanic effects fluctuate in the guitars accompanied by elegant black keyboards adding a blood dripping classy feel. Mid tune synth opens the circus diabolique with old school 90’s thrash vocals mixed with disturbed screams, ending with a classic vampiric Victorian feel with chorus’s singing for the damned.
“Bleeding Perfection” is techno-electro danceable, with horror thrash meeting the spiked bat of black metal and the grinding meat cleaver of death metal. There’s a candlelit organ playing in the dungeon or parlor long after twilight, making the wolves howl and the ghoulish bloodsucking beauties rise for a drink. It’s a fitting nocturnal lullaby for the living and wandering playground tune for the winged predators. Will you end your life to be reborn or for eternal beauty?
“Ordained by the Hydra” is pipe busting hydro-fusion with emotionally screaming guitar notes to shatter glass with and keys projecting the eeriness of the north bound moon with a bitter evening taste of nightshade. Grunge laced death prog pound-fisted and skull-fucked in cranium to death. The chosen have been touched by the serpentine guardian of the underworld.
“Core of the Black Sun” Opeth meets Emperor in the heart of a black metal sun with tech-prog meets thrash with shades of blackened menace. Disconcerting guitar notes bring hyper-reaper tension as the horror movie guitars scream out the spirits of trapped souls in purgatory leaning toward the abyss.
