Published: October 5, 2023

Urbain is an American progressive black metal band that formed in 2020 and A Soul Purged is their debut album released by Hypnotic Dirge Records.

The band describes their style as urban black metal since their themes and concepts deal about modern urban dystopia and decay. A Soul Purged turned out a massive and innovative album. It consists of nine songs and four of them are relatively shorter instrumental songs that function as delightful and atmospheric bridges between the songs Perception, Without Conscience, A Soul Purged, Unseen and No God to Greet Me.

Urbain prove themselves geniuses in composing and producing a balanced album that beholds aggressiveness and progressiveness at the same time. Fragile and bombastic at times. 1990’s symphonic BM is in there and the vocals are divers with a filthy high-pitched shriek on most parts, but with some grunting and clean backing vocals mixed in there as well. Although completely different in sound, I wouldn’t be surprised that a band like Savatage, and was some sort of inspiration when it came to the writing and execution of orchestral arrangements, sensitive piano passages, multiple background vocals and wonderful guitar-solos. The pace in the songs alters between fasten your seatbelt, grooving midtempo and melancholic downtempo. On top of all this are well-thought thinking-man lyrics that deal about what Bill Hicks best described in his quote: “I’m tired of this back-slappin’ isn’t humanity neat bullshit. We’re a virus with shoes!”.

Because of aforementioned ingredients there’s plenty of variation what makes this on all levels a more than pleasant album to listen to over and over.

Fans of melodic, progressive, and atmospheric black metal will most definitely be interested in what Urbain has to offer. Surely one of those remarkable revelations in this genre. And mind you that this is only their debut album! I’m looking forward to what the future beholds even more for this band.