The German band Urfeind may have originated in 2015, but they only adopted the name Urfeind in 2017. With their third album, Dau þ alaikaz, which translates to Death is Eternal in Old Germanic, they return to CD shelves after five years—not counting their 2021 EP.
You can expect a solid dose of Second Wave-inspired Black Metal, even though they refer to it as Anti-Cosmic Black Metal. The influences clearly stem from Scandinavian regions, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Raw, slightly dissonant Black Metal with a killer production, plenty of variation in the songs, and a vocalist with a commanding presence.
Despite its rawness, there’s still a strong melodic undercurrent that makes everything even more engaging. The mid-tempo sections in particular stand out and work exceptionally well. Tracks like Serpent’s Flight the almost epic Nine to Zero and the powerful Void make this an album worth returning to again and again.
Four of the tracks on this album previously appeared in a different version on the 2021 Wraiþaz EP, but with the new production, they hit even harder.
Overall, this album marks a huge step forward in quality compared to their earlier releases. Everything sounds more cohesive and complete now.
A killer new release that’s definitely worth checking out!
90/100
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