I’m not sure what genre you would label this EP with, would you call it Dark Metal? It’s hard to pigeonhole, though it does certainly have Gothic and Industrial undertones and Metalcore-like vocals- Death Metal growls and light and melodic female counterpoints. It’s pretty arty too, so it may be challenging for some, my real issue though is the mix and the dirty vocal growls in particular don’t really hit the spot and seem a bit half-hearted more like a 40-a-day smoker than a demon.
Formed out of French band Leiden, Ulvånd is certainly interesting, and on opening track ‘Human Zoo’ they create a compelling canvass set by the synth before the growls and clean vocals kick in to tell the tale. It’s an interestingly cinematic soundscape but somehow restrained and one where the female vocal holds sway and the instrumentation takes back seat. The male vocals as I say are quite held back, most like the band isn’t completely convinced by the convention of the whole ‘beauty and the beast’ set up. And whilst you could argue the song is a little overlong with a horrible presumably synthesized drum sound (which to me is the one real failure of the EP) it’s enough to draw you in.
‘Chrysalis’ is much shorter and to the point and more ‘Nightwish’ in flavour without the elaboration and some nice orchestral touches. Eve the growls are little more balanced though those drums are just as annoying and the spoken word section is beautifully placed. ‘7 Virtues’ adds more electronic elements but there’s a wonderful balance brought by the best guitars on the EP – it might even be the best song here.
At 31 minutes this is a decent length EP and ‘Valhalla’ which follows has a nice Doomy touch and some ethereal moments but it’s no Battle Hymn – I expected a real uptempo thrust to fit the title. ‘Despair’ that follows rides a comfortingly familiar riff and crawls like a moment from a horror movie that is never really resolved as a song. It’s the most ambitious musical movement here, but loses me just before the three minute mark where it appears to yearn to be a different song.
Closer ‘Una Vida’ is another musical experiment but seems better resolved. Starting with synth and a child’s voice speaking in Spanish, we’re then presented with a dark groove and those half-hearted grumblings before a ‘gypsy caravan’ of clean female vocals and Spanish guitars arrive. It’s a great way to end what is an EP that is symphonic at its core, powerful at times, melancholic and dark, with distinct cinematic elements.
With some real drums and a little more feeling and grit behind the growls this could have challenged for my album of the year.
7/10