Conor Fynes
'Lamentos A Poema Muerto' - Uaral (7/10)
It takes alot of creativity and innovation to come up with a sound that is original and fresh. The problem with treading into uncharted territory however, is that there is not a precedent concerning what necessarily works and what doesn't. The concept of taking a metal aesthetic and transposing it to an almost completely acoustic setting may have been done once or twice before, but Uaral takes their latin heritage and makes a convincing and heart- wrenching blend of doom metal and classical Spanish folk with their sound. It is however, not without it's flaws.
The most pronounced and memorable thing about the album actually ends up being Uaral's biggest point of contension. I am speaking about the vocals; specifically the awkward combination of having lo-fi doom growls thrown atop serene acoustic guitar playing. Had the album been entirely instrumental, it would be a pleasure to listen to from start to finish. The vocals do work at times -especially when the singer Caudal takes his scream up higher or uses his clean baritone voice- but the doom growls are so low-set that it sounds almost like noise to distract from the perfect instrumental work.
Regardless, Uaral presents me one of the best guitar albums I have ever heard. The acoustic playing does not involve 'shredding' or any of the other things people typically associate with guitar mastery; it is the emotion that is able to be conveyed through the mere plucking of strings that gets to me here. Due to the fact that the album is highly depressing and introspective in nature (there is a point where the singer literally breaks down into tears,) the guitars are played with a very heightened sense of fragility and vulnerability to compliment the subject matter and overall feel of the music.
Oh yes, this album is depressing. It's very depressing.
I wouldn't consider this metal perse despite the growled vocals, but it should appeal to an open-minded metalhead who doesn't think everything has to be 'br00tal' in nature in order to be worth a spin. Uaral performs one of the more moving albums I've heard, with some great replayability to boot. It's not without some problems, but it is certainly something for those looking for an album along the lines of other dark folk metal bands such as Agalloch.