Upir – Threads of Sei​ð​r – Seeing Under Starlight Review

I have to thank Cherd of Doom for defending raw black metal. While untimely, divisive, and arguably unwelcome, his glorious piece on the stark ugliness and raw beauty of black metal’s most unlovable face allowed some of us some freedom and bad reputation. Case in point, a surprise demo of 2021, Calgary’s Upir dropped the absolutely and wonderfully noisemongering Effigy for the Fiercest Frost – Shadows Dance in the Fires of Yule, which achieved a meditative effect across two tracks in its blend of thick ambiance and raw black metal – landing as one of my biggest surprises of 2021. As another surprise, the enigmatic act dropped their first full-length proper out of nowhere.

Now, when I say raw, you aren’t expecting this particular breed of raw – it has to be heard to be believed. In trve kvlt fashion, the enigmatic Calgary trio has released a slew of demos, singles, splits, and rehearsals since 2020, each more damaging than the last.¹ Upir now offers its most “accessible” release thus far, with Threads of Seiðr comprising a new but ultimately still incredibly noisy direction. Described as “blackened ritualism,” it achieves the same meditative and claustrophobic effect, tantalizing melodies pulsing underneath a thick blizzard of noise, but with a stronger percussive presence and more forward vocal attack. Upir is still noise, and absolutely not everyone’s cup of tea mead, but it’s easy to get lost in this overlong, beautiful, noisy, patient, and obnoxious album.

Cutting through the muck of Threads of Seiðr offers rewards because just like Trist’s underrated Hin-Fort, the noise needs to be unearthed. A clear influence being Paysage d’Hiver in conjuring the auditory experience of a blizzard, Upir utilizes a meditative density both vicious and majestic a la the scathing Carved Cross and puzzling layered soundscapes not unlike the otherworldly Fell Voices. Upir’s opener “Woodland Affliction” is a great example to the punishment that awaits, as the unholy wall of noise is introduced with no mercy. While initially painful, however, the melodies beneath reveal themselves upon multiple listens, further explored deeper in the dense and punky “Deciduous Glory” and culminates in the shape-shifting colossus “Thunder in the East,” whose amorphous tempos beneath a textured union of sludgy feedback, raw shred, and thick ambiance embody the Upir sound neatly. This continues into the most effective traditional second-wave prototype of “Teeth of Jagged Lightning,” featuring droning tremolo and battering blastbeats, while the ambient crescendos and diminuendos of “Eardstapa” and “Threads of Sei​ð​r” pay homage to acts like Limbonic Art and Evilfeast, as cold and oppressive closers that balance density and atmospherics. Like much of frostbitten black metal, a frigid winter is Threads of Sei​ð​r’s aim, but very few acts accomplish the freezer burn of Upir.

Perhaps obviously, Upir’s corrosive take is enough to test the mettle of even the most jaded raw black fan. It’s dense, devastating, and frankly painful, at its best when meditative ritualism takes front and center. You wouldn’t be remiss, then, to get lost in the muck (for better or worse) for all of Threads of Sei​ð​r, or at least a good half of the mammoth and often unwieldy hour-and-eighteen-minute runtime. While “Thunder in the East” and onward feature more claustrophobic ambiance alongside dynamic songwriting reminiscent of Effigy to the Fiercest Frost…, the first half is largely indiscernible save for some changes in harsh noise tone. As aforesaid, you could consider Threads of Sei​ð​r Upir’s most “accessible” album, as percussion and vocals are more forward. In this way, while percussion serves as a welcome change and effective tether to sanity, vocalist B.L. utilizes a louder, sharper, and echo-laden gruff bark rather than the ghostly howls that haunted previous outings, which strangely drown out the surrounding noise and is a chore to adapt. The better and latter tracks feature less vocals and more ambiance.

Upir’s breed of raw black is unorthodox and inherently ridiculously challenging. While the apex remains demo Effigy for the Fiercest Frost…, Threads of Sei​ð​r – Seeing Under Starlight is an effective but divisive debut. Some may see this as noise and the vocals are off-putting, with the mix being as wonky as you’d expect for a raw black metal album and its overlong runtime challenging casual listening. However, with a thread of tasteful melody coursing through this tapestry of blackened pain and a tantalizingly meditative songwriting style, Upir offers bounties aplenty for the raw black masochists – if you want to be associated with those people.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 4 | Format Reviewed: 180 kbps mp3
Label: Self-Released
Website: upir.bandcamp.com
Releases Worldwide: September 30th, 2023