Bristol sludge quartet Urzah recently released their new record on the very reputable APF Records. I was excited to give this one a listen having come across the band after the release of their debut album The Scorching Gaze.
First single ‘Infernal Star 1’ is an opening of pure intent, beginning in a haze of swirling drone before lurching into tribal rhythms and monstrous, earth-cracking riffage and a very catchy chorus.
From there, A Tranquil Void unfolds as a dense and suffocating listen, steeped in bleak atmosphere and crushing weight. Urzah balance slow-burning tension with eruptions of violent force, letting cavernous sludge riffs grind against ritualistic percussion. There’s a real sense of scale to the record — it feels less like a collection of songs and more like being pulled deeper into something vast, hostile, and inescapable.
The artwork for A Tranquil Void, created by Putra Satria Nugraha, depicts a hooded figure ascending a tangle of twisted stairs toward a doorway consumed by a swirling vortex — suggesting either a desperate escape or the ominous beginning of a deeper descent.
What makes the album hit so hard is the band’s control of dynamics. They allow the riffs to breathe. The vocals sound visceral and scorched, while the guitars carry that thick, corroded weight that sludge should always have. I found comparisons to Remission-era Mastodon and sludge legends Neurosis.
Go and treat your ears!
