Pain and the torment of lost hopes have always fueled heavy music, a feedstock that has found expression in a multitude of ways, sometimes alloyed with rage, sometimes tinged with glimmers of resilience, sometimes simply plumbing the depths of pure desolation. It’s not surprising; those emotions are ever-present in the human condition, and maybe that’s why music that channels such feelings with special intensity exerts such a strong attraction, particularly in metal, where happiness and optimism have rarely been the order of the day.
The Italian band Ubiquity have summoned these sensations with impressive conviction and enthralling power in the song we’re premiering today off their new album Forever/Denied, which is set for release by Third I Rex on October 29th. The song is “Lost Pt. I“.
Part of the song’s attraction comes from the way in which the band work changes in both the central melodic theme and in the intensity of its expression, which in turn changes the music’s emotional resonance. When first heard through the slow strumming at the song’s beginning, the melody is eerie and haunting, though given added weight by the appearance of heavy, clanging bass notes. But the band soon begin evolving that melody and at the same time greatly magnifying the music’s intensity through a surge of blasting drums, fiery tremolo chords, and raw, hardcore-styled vocal explosiveness.
The pacing changes in a bridge of buzzing guitar and pounding drums, but if anything the music grows even more unsettling as the vocalist shreds his larynx in a display of harrowing torment. The energy surges again, and ebbs again, with the melody taking on an expression of bereavement. But in the end, when the music becomes tumultuous and a racing riff takes flight, you might detect a kind of ecstasy — or at least defiance — mixed with anguish.
Stylistically, Ubiquity deploy elements of black metal, hardcore, and post-metal in the music, and their hybridization of genres enhances its dynamic effect. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
Forever/Denied was recorded, mixed and mastered at D.I.Y. Studio by Simone Lo Nardo, and the album’s fascinating artwork was created by Roberto Canu. Pre-order via the link below.
Pre-order:
https://3rdirex.bandcamp.com/album/forever-denied
Ubiquity on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Ubiquity-1687303928154973/