Uada probably need no introduction. The black metal shooting stars have gained quite a following with their releases Devoid of Light (2016) and Cult of a Dying Sun (2018), toured tirelessly in the last few years, and cultivated a professional social media presence.
Now they are back with their third full length, Djinn. The nagging voices in the online community that used to complain about Uada being “just a MGLA clone” now shifted to “this isn’t even MGLA anymore” and “wow, this is SUM41 now”, because the first single released, opening and title track Djinn has …melodies in it? Anyhow, let’s ignore all of that and look at the music.
Uada were never exactly known for short, snappy radio-length songs, and they continue that on Djinn. With six songs between 7 and 14 minutes each, clocking in at a total runtime of one hour, this is not a short release. That leaves a lot of room for experimentation, and Uada indulge in that quite a bit. While still black metal at heart, there’s plenty of heavy metal, rock and post-black woven into the structures of these six songs. There is a nice flow to the music on this record, I really love the dynamic ups and downs of all the different riffs and melodies thrown together here. Think MGLA mixed with Iron Maiden and Alcest, seasoned with tons of other little sparkles, combined and made to work through the power of songwriting. That’s the most impressive feat on display here – at no moment did a change of pace or a shift of the musical atmosphere feel jarring. The guys in Uada are a bunch of talented musicians and songwriters indeed, and they really show off their craft here.
While Devoid of Light and Cult of a Dying Sun seemed to be generally cut from the same cloth, with differences and alterations of course, Djinn feels like something different – a broadened horizon, a musical evolution. Uada are still Uada, but they seem matured and more than they used to be. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing will doubtlessly be subject of debate on various message boards. I for one like Djinn a lot, and prefer it over its predecessors. I think it was time to mix it up a bit on their third record, and they did so in a magical way.
Born in ’88, living in Austria. I play guitar in various Blues / Rock / Metal projects and do my own amateurish music recording & production.
