Band:	Uada
Album:	Cult Of A Dying Sun
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	May 25, 2018
A review by:	RaduP

01. The Purging Fire
02. Snakes & Vultures
03. Cult Of A Dying Sun
04. The Wanderer
05. Blood Sand Ash
06. Sphere (Imprisonment)
07. Mirrors

Shortly after Devoid Of Light, we now get another Mgła album. Or not exactly.

Uada got a lot of flak two years ago for their untimely appearance right as a certain Polish band of a similar style and aesthetic exploded in the years prior. It didn't help that they had no previous material and they got quite a high popularity instantly. While neither of the bands really reinvent the wheel and both have their dues to pay to Dissection for this branch of melodic black metal, the similarities were there. Uada seem to know this, so for Cult Of A Dying Sun they try to expand their sound, while still basing it as a continuation of their debut.

Mgła comparisons aside, let's examine the music. Just a quick glance at the track list and it can be seen that this time around the songs are longer and also increased in number, almost doubling the length of Devoid Of Light. This step may have been one too big for Uada to take, as often times it feels like the songs are forcibly overextended. They do find plenty of transitions and variation to fill up the run time without it being boring, but they reached a bit too much. Cutting about a minute from every long track would make the music much more impactful and engaging.

And the variation is there. This no longer feels close to being something else, despite the massive influence. Both the production and the songwriting have improved. Despite reaching a bit too much, while previously stated, it is clear that Uada are more comfortable with writing longer songs than they used to be, and if their evolution is to be observed, I'd say they'll nail it the next time around. There is a lot of variation in the vocal performance; while never really going into clean territory, it finds different ways besides the usual shrieks. The music is mostly riff-based, which is where the engaging side of their melodic black metal sound comes from, but there are moments like the bass fill in "The Purging Fire" or the acoustic guitar and piano in "Sphere (Imprisonment)" that shake the established sound just a little bit. And then there's also "The Wandered", an instrumental track that you would expect to be an opening mood setter, yet is in the middle, dividing the album right in two, and showing a bit of a cascadian feel in the sound.

Uada change their formula just a bit in order to find their own sound and step out of the shadow of their predecessors. They're not quite there yet, but their riffs do it, their shrieks do it, their spirit does it and they're fearless with it.