Release Date June 5th, 2026
Format Vinyl,/CD/Digital
Genre Sludge/Post-Metal
Origin England
Urzah formed in Bristol in 2020, right as the world locked down, and used that time to build something with actual substance. Two self-titled EPs, "I" (2020) and "II" (2022), established their take on progressive sludge before their debut LP "The Scorching Gaze" arrived in 2024 on APF Records to strong critical response. The four-piece, Ed Fairman and Tom McElveen on vocals and guitars, Dan Bradley on bass, and James Brown on drums, draw from Neurosis, Mastodon, DVNE, and Elder while carving enough of their own path to make the comparison game feel secondary. They've since built a touring reputation across the UK, sharing stages with names like Bongzilla, Mastiff, and Nadja.
"A Tranquil Void" is positioned as the second half of a diptych with "The Scorching Gaze, where the debut erupted, this one settles into the aftermath. That's not a criticism, it's just what the album is. Eight tracks conceived as the cooling lava, the silence after the detonation. The concept holds up. Thematically, the material circles memory, forgiveness, grief, and the confrontation with an indifferent cosmos. It's personal and cosmic at once, and Urzah handle that tonal range with more control here than on the debut.
Recorded at Stage 2 Studios in Bath and produced by Josh Gallop, the sound occupies the right space between punished and spacious. Cello from Luke Clemenger adds texture in the quieter moments without turning sentimental, and guest vocals from Dave Cook, Chris Wilson, and Victoria Bourne are used with enough restraint to actually matter when they arrive. The folk-influenced passages and drone-based structures woven through the record give "A Tranquil Void" a slower metabolic rate than its predecessor, some sections earn the space they take, others test patience. The atmosphere occasionally works harder than the underlying material beneath it.
Tracks like "Infernal Star I" and "Hunter in the Veil" land with clarity of intent. "Entwined, Twisted Roots of Chaos," the 13-minute closer, is the album's most fully realized piece, layered, patient, and genuinely constructed rather than extended for its own sake. It's where all the album's moving parts lock in. Elsewhere, a few moments in the middle stretch feel more like connective tissue than destination, which keeps "A Tranquil Void" from sitting in the same tier as the best records in this space. Solid, honest, and more than competent, just not every track pulls equal mass.
|7.0
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