Being one who tends to gravitate towards bands that utilize the ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ approach, there’s always something to be said about a band who is willing to try things out of the norm. Germany’s The Hirsch Effekt have been honing their ‘progressive metal’ template for a while now, with Urian being their sixth full-length effort. To say the album is ambitious is not cliched nor overexaggerating, as they provide lengthy jaunts into an incredibly diverse set of musical regions, both metallic and nonmetallic.
Urian is simply a lot to take in. It will likely make your brain hurt a bit as you listen through for the first few listens. Thankfully, it’s squeezed into a 52-minute runtime, because much more and it’d definitely cause some damage. That’s no slight to the band though, as they track-by-track unveil different musical pathways while attempting to keep some sort of semblance of unity. The lengthy “Otus” lands firmly in proggy and rock-ish territory, with a certain melodic sense to it (that unfortunately goes just a little too long) – just don’t expect it to last over the album. “2054” follows it up with a number that’s much more lively and frenetic. Bits of metalcore, death metal, and mathcore dominate the track, and it shakes you out of any lull you may have encountered. Switching gears once again with the title track, some galloping thrash, sprinklings of melodic prog, and groove bring the track into some more expansive territory than the cuts before it. It’s a bit of a jarring transition to “Stegodon,” even with the quiet outro to the previous track. It’s a very pretty track that slowly builds up over time, but always stays on the softer and more poignant side of things. The final three tracks continue the genre swerving with the same sway of intensity and calm, ending with “Eristys” providing some of the most gentle catharsis of the bunch.
The music is exceptionally well done, but there are a few tiny rough patches to these ears. First, there is the overtly long nature of some of the tracks where it seems like a little trimming could be done (looking at you “Otus”). Then the energy builds on the band’s heavier cuts in a fantastic way, but the momentum is sapped away when they go into more mellow territory with the next track. All in all though, it’s not a horrible ding to the band’s music – as already mentioned, the sheer level of genre-blurring The Hirsch Effekt does makes them worthy of a listen to anyone seeking out a change of pace. Just enjoy each cut on Urian for what it is, and you’re bound to have a good time with it.