It’s been a while since we covered anything coming from animal-loving labels like Transcending Obscurity. So, I went to my collapsed email box and found an album with a cool and Lovecraft-like cover from la France! Of course, I had to give it a go. Skaphos is a Blackened Death Metal band. As a style that many have tried and failed to master, it’s a complex balance between the fury and sorrow of both genres, but Cult of Uzura aims to defy these expectations, and I’m okay with that. In fact, as long as it doesn’t just blast from beginning to end, that’ll be enough for me!
Okay, so… there’s a ridiculous amount of blasting in Uzura, but wait! Don’t get mad. There’s more than just that! The album is a malevolent interplay between rage and horror. Imagine The Great Old Ones made a Brutal Death album but with some Mgła touches here and there. Skaphos is relentless first and painful second. It sounds as if a creature from the depths of the ocean has emerged after a millennium of slumber—totally mad and hungry for the world to pay for its sins.
Did that feel dramatic enough? Well, good, because with the exception of some touching and beautiful acoustic moments, Uzura is just punishing you. At first, I thought it’d be just another Death Metal album, but the riffs shift toward a more resonant and melancholic feeling, adding depth to something that otherwise would become rather numbing. I do think there’s room for more innovation here, but the band is pretty effective at delivering cosmic horror that’s more centered around crushing you with water pressure than with a complicated atmosphere. In that sense, Skaphos has an interesting proposal for us.
I’m just left feeling that the album could be more than technical brutality with an extra negative vibe. I think Skaphos could benefit from exploring its “soft” side more (a side that still obliterates your grandma, don’t worry). It’s so hard to stand out when you’re playing the violence game, so as always, diversify your inhumanity, kids. It’ll help you create weirder art. Right! That’s how I’d put it. I ended up wondering what would become of this album if it got just a bit weirder. There’s always room to break even more rules in Metal because we pretend to be subversive while having a million rules on how it should be done. Anyway, you get the point: more acoustic work!
Uzura is a solid album for those of you who want violence with some melodic depth (hehe! Pun intended!). It might stick too much to its force and power, but I believe the band can keep evolving and refining its own unique take on Blackened Death. So, if you need a short answer, yes, we’ve got some decent style mix worthy of your rather scarce attention. Okay, get off the toilet seat and go back to your shift, alright? We wouldn’t want you to get into trouble. Or actually, get in trouble—if you get fired, you’ll have more time to read us!
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records
Release date: 9 May, 2025
Website: https://www.facebook.com/skaphosofficiel
Country: France
Score: 3.5/5.0 with pressure and horror!
Metal Eclipse Reviews 