Releasing an EP or an album can be a difficult thing for a new band. A common pitfall can be that a group will be unsure how to actually start the recording in the first place, finding it difficult to get the ball rolling, if you will. No such issue faced Israeli post and doom-metallers NŪR. The quartet have had their ball rolling for quite some time, gaining speed and mass, preparing to crush whatever may stand before it. Your eardrums, for example.
NŪR are something of a local super-group, with band drawing in from a host of Israeli metal bands. With this being the case, it is no wonder that their debut EP, Light Emerges, manages to sound so well put together. It is obvious from listening to Light Emerges that NŪR is a group filled with experience, dedication, and knowledge of not only their scene, but the music which inhabits it.
“Put your best foot forward” as the old saying goes, and one which has been taken to heart on this record. NŪR waste no time establishing themselves, as introductory track “Trader” immediately grabs the listener by the shoulders and proceeds to shake them violently through the huge, rolling guitar riffs which come at you like waves in a storm. The waves of barbarity refuse to subside, and soon are followed by the hoarse roars of vocalist Eyal Lat. Created within the early stages of Light Emerges is a feeling which can only be described as being swallowed up by a great blackness, a huge swirling void which seeps into every pore of your skin and fills it with lead, dragging you down into the vast expanse of this post-metal landscape. The more you listen, the deeper you fall. While you are surrounded by wailing guitar notes and the almost ritualistic style of drumbeat, you will find yourself becoming one with this darkness, letting your mind be taken by the music.
Perhaps the lesson that can be taken from Light Emerges is that of the importance of a group not only being good at playing their chosen genre of music, but actually understanding it, and further to that, understanding what to do with it. NŪR have proven that they are capable of creating songs which sound and feel tight, claustrophobic, and can even elicit a feeling of anxiety within the listener. This is due to their massive style of play, having their music feel as if it is physically in the room with you and when it is, you can barely move.
This is not something for everyone. This is for a specific group of listeners, those who are willing to experience something new, something dark. The music created by NŪR is unfathomably heavy, making your entire body feel weighed down simply by pressing the play button, but it is not without its subtlety. The music may come across initially as being one collective barrage of noise, yet once you begin to truly listen to it, to allow yourself to become part of the music, you will hear how each small moment within this EP comes together to create something bigger.
For those willing to allow some darkness into their lives, NŪR are the post-metal doom group for you. Do not go in unprepared, but do so with an open mind.
Light Emerges is out now and is available to via bandcamp.
