Urbain - A Soul Purged (2023)

We sometimes wonder how the guys over at Hypnotic Dirge Records have such a similar music taste to us. From highly melancholic, to extremely experimental releases, this label has landed another winner with Urbain’s release “A Soul Purged”. Hailing from Texas, this band feels like a mixture of Vesperian Sorrow, Limbonic Art, with some splashes of Dimmu Borgir. With nine brilliant and high-octane tracks, this release is one of our early candidates for album of the year for 2023.

Opening with the release with the dramatic atmospherics of “Perception”, the mood is set very efficiently as the ravaging intensity of the guitar riffs is introduced alongside piercing shrieks and lush melodic passages. With an atmospheric transitioning track between each song, the band nicely changes the tempo and mood while preparing themselves to unleash aggressive onslaughts with a hearty balance of melody as we can hear in excellent songs like “Without Conscience” and “A Soul Purged”.

With each track being quite unique and engaging, songs like “Unseen” perfectly create that sinister atmospheric vibe of bands like Dimmu Borgir thanks to elegant arrangements and crafty guitar work. Closing with our favorite, “No God to Greet Me”, the band perfectly archives catharsis in this release with a very elegant and dramatic piece with epic clean vocal arrangements and over the top orchestrations.

As a whole, “A Soul Purged” is a very polished and expertly crafted release filled with memorable moments, both atmospheric and punishing. Blending styles seamlessly while developing a core sound, Urbain has some similarities to other bands, but yet archives a very elegant and crafty unique style. For over 43 minutes, this North American outfit manages to deliver one intense and highly melancholic release, with very few others to get close to it in terms of perfection.

Label: Hypnotic Dirge Records

Release: July 28th, 2023

Genre: Symphonic/Atmospheric Black Metal

Country: USA