Urarv — Argentum

Urarv are the brainchild of avant-garde metal vocalist/guitarist Björn Aldrahn Dencker of Thorns and The Deathtrip fame.  The band were originally formed in 2003, however it would take another 13 years before their demo CD appeared in 2016 and 14 years before they released their debut album Aurum in 2017. The band’s current lineup have been active since 2013 when Aldrahn was joined by Sturt on bass and Trish on drums. This latest release Argentum was recorded during the same sessions as last year’s Aurum.

Opening track Ahaman Inikad Mo is short intro, using what sounds like a didgeridoo and distorted and sometimes backward vocals this track in purely here to prepare the listener for the blackness that follows. Krakekjott is the first fully realised track. Whilst the track has pretty standard sounding black metal riffs the execution is anything but standard. The vocals have an unusual quality that seems somewhat off kilter but works really well. Not the most harsh sounding vocals you will ever hear either, which is actually really refreshing to my jaded old ears. There is also a really unusual melodic quality to the whole thing that I thought worked really well. There is also a distinctly underplayed Voivod influence that occasionally rises to the fore. Aurum is up next and whilst the Voivod influence continues to makes itself known there is a hint of folk about some of the cleaner vocal lines. Again the whole track seems to be slightly off kilter and like some of the early Voivod material this odd mix of styles works well. The avant-garde and the Black Metal influences melding together perfectly. Satori is up next, a term that represents enlightenment or awakening in Japanese Zen Buddhism. Listening to the album is certainly an enlightening experience from the perspective of the band’s style, they develop their own distinctive sound based on their rather disparate influences.
 
As we approach the end of this very short 25 minute album/EP Sannhet comes along full guns blazing before settling into a mid paced rocker with more cleanish vocals. There are some lovely guitar melodies that are prevalent throughout the album, but these seem to work especially well on this track, whilst the vocals feel a little less off kilter and the whole thing seems a little less avant-garde than the previous tracks. Soloppgang is the album’s closer and after a brief acoustic opening the track moves effortlessly between gentle acoustic segments and extreme Black Metal segments. The off kilter vocals are back and the whole thing remains an exercise in creating something that doesn’t slip well into the Black Metal mainstream.
 
Overall Argentum is a real oddity as far as the music is concerned, whilst it looks and feels like a Black Metal album in a lot of ways there is always a sniff of the avant-garde and certain things don’t seem to fit together as they perhaps should. This all becomes far clearer when we consider that the idea for the band grew out of some mental health issues that Aldrahn was experiencing back in 2003. Suddenly the off kilter vocals and the strange timings all make perfect sense. This is a work of art in the true sense. A chance for Aldrahn to lay to rest some demons from his past, done with a great deal of style and flair by a man who now appears to understand where he’s been and where he is headed.