No matter how far your musical travels take you waveriders, I’m confident that like me you always find a way to return to your foundation. I’m referring to the comfort food music which satisfies the need for familiarity and checks all of your internal boxes necessary for an enjoyable listening experience. I’d like to believe that I cast a pretty wide net when it comes to absorbing new music, but certain albums at certain times simply hit me in exactly the right way. Enter Abyss Between The Stars from Ursa.
Ah, doom metal. As a longtime Black Sabbath devotee, I can’t help but be drawn to groups who worship at the same sonic altar that so enriched my life. That said, I do find myself spending less time listening to doom and doom-adjacent bands as I get older. When I discovered Abyss Between The Stars I didn’t expect to be writing this review for two main reasons. One, as I mentioned earlier I wasn’t specifically searching for a new doom metal album/band to check out. And two, I read in the album synopsis that Ursa is a side project for ¾ of the progressive black metal band Comorant. Being a side project is not in any way an indicator of poor quality, but since I’ve never heard anything by parent group Comorant I had no point of reference to be excited about.
So what was it that made me listen to Abyss Between The Stars? I’m a simple man my friends. I thought the album art was great! I thought the band logo was really cool! I read the song titles and since I’ve read many fantasy novels in my time on this planet I decided to give this album a spin. “Wizard’s Path” began and at the 1:15 mark I was embraced by the gigantic doom sound we all know and love. I will be honest and say that thanks to the black metal pedigree the clean vocals took me by surprise. I was also pleasantly surprised to hear the song not rest on its laurels. Ursa does a fine job in evolving the song with multiple distinct musical passages instead of simply repeating the main riff for seven minutes. “Dragon’s Beard” seamlessly picks up the torch and pushes the listener’s journey forward. This song does a fantastic job juxtaposing downtempo, sludgy verses with blast-beat laced, uptempo choruses.
Speaking of sludge, “Serengeti Yeti” and “Thirteen Witches” have the sludgiest guitar/bass riffs on offer here. Absolutely crushing stuff! But just when I was completely comfortable and absorbed in Ursa’s world of doom they throw some additional, unexpected ingredients into the cooking pot. “Cave Of The Spider King”, the epic ten minute song on the album, begins with an ominous, slow moving bass line. Nothing out of the ordinary there. The banjo accompaniment however, was not on my bingo card. Also, the first guitar solo starting at 4:45 uncannily reminds me of the solo from Steely Dan’s “Reelin’ In The Years”. Again, not something I was expecting to hear. Last but certainly not least album closer “The Mountain” is a Steve Earle cover. I didn’t know it was a cover, but upon hearing the original version I am impressed with how well Ursa made the song their doomy own.
Waveriders, Ursa’s Abyss Between The Stars is a fantastic album! It scratches the doom metal itch that is a permanent feature in my biological makeup. The riffs, the vocals, the fantastical song titles/lyrics, the trippy album art. All of the hallmarks are there! This album is comfort food, and I couldn’t be happier about it!
-Penfold
P.S. – This album is “Name Your Price” on Ursa’s Bandcamp page. There is officially no barrier to entry preventing you from checking this one out!
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