UMBRA – Delirium Mortuorum

vote
7.5

• Bands:
  UMBRA
• Duration: 00:25:01
• Available from: 10/31/2024

Sometimes the logic of the record market is truly incomprehensible, just think of the example of the Spanish Umbra (now moved from Madrid to the region of Galicia and not to be confused with the Spanish group of the same name, but still from Aragon). This is a single project born in 2021 and carried out by the all-rounder Lord Sargoth, who with this new “Delirium Mortuorum” reaches his second self-produced EP in the space of four years.
How this black metal project remains without a supporting label honestly remains a mystery, if we think of the many truly mediocre productions that have been released lately. The hope is to see this reality under a serious label in the sector so that Umbra's dark, symphonic and pestilential black metal can be promoted as best as possible. The production of this EP is anything but underground, in fact everything here was done in a truly professional manner: from the logo curated by the famous Christophe Szpajdel, to the clear and profound production, to the more than good quality of the songwriting present in the four tracks of ” Delirium Mortuorum”.
The initial episode can immediately bring the Umbra closer to the black Finnish trend, with the Sargeist in the front row. Then, in the subsequent songs, with the increasingly full-bodied addition of synths and a style that gradually becomes darker and more cadenced, the influences that can be found begin to be very varied, in support of a style that allows various small surprises. In just four songs, Umbra show us four different aspects of the way they understand black metal, including a dreamlike side and an even vaguely epic one.
In a national panorama which, excluding the stronghold of the Basque scene, is struggling to take off, Umbra certainly represent one of the best Spanish black metal bands around: to realize this, just listen to a song like “Macabre Delirium Mortuorum” or the final “Penitence After” Deceasing”, tracks so different from each other and yet so equally enchanting. There is an invisible cloak that envelops this underground reality and makes it fascinating and arcane. Bands to discover.