The cultish and furry-toned drone of Portland (and Idaho) foursome Uzala will be familiar to anyone pulled by the gravity of Megaton Leviathan‘s Water Wealth Hell on Earth, but on their self-titled debut vinyl/tape, Uzala are less concerned with expansive, infinite exploration than they are refining the process and cutting it into songs. Uzala‘s Uzala sounds open and rough in its production, but at the core there is a base of structure — it’s in there somewhere — that allows the noise a foundation to rest and build upon.

That winds up making a big difference as the album progresses. The lead vocals of guitarist Darcy Nutt provide an ethereal mood worthy of the latest incarnation of The Wounded Kings or Jex Thoth, but the black metal influences worked in by guitarist Chad Remains, who also provides backing screams behind Nutt‘s varied crooning on midsection songs like “Fracture” and “Wardrums,” put Uzala in a category more their own: definitively doomed, but working on an expanded definition of what that means.

At its strongest points, though, Uzala‘s Uzala is slow and classically menacing. Drummer Stephen Gere varies his tempo but seems to lumber no matter the speed, and bassist Nick Phit (ex-Graves at Sea, Atriarch) offsets the riffs with doomly groove, adding depth to the fuzz and reverb-soaked guitar lines and furthering the sense of ritual brought out in Nutt‘s singing.

The album is limited to 333 LPs through At War with False Noise and on cassette via Witch Sermon Productions. I was lucky enough to be given permission to host the cassette-only bonus track, “Cataract” for your streaming, which you’ll find on the player below, followed by some PR wire info. Please enjoy:

At long last, the blistering debut recording from one of the most-talked about doom bands of the past year is nearly within our grasp! Boise/Portland vintage doom merchants Uzala have aligned themselves with At War With False Noise and Witch Sermon Productions to unleash their monumental debut. The self-titled album will be manifested in wax by At War With False Noise, while Witch Sermon will handle the cassette version (which will feature a special bonus track, “Cataract”). Featuring Nick Phit (formerly of Graves at Sea, Atriarch) on bass, Uzala‘s lineup is rounded out by drummer Stephen Gere, guitarist/hellish vocalist Chad Remains, and chanteuse & axe-slinger Darcy Nutt (a world-renowned tattoo artist and devastating talent).

The  album’s crushing, velvety fuzzed-out sound is attained by a Blake Green (Wolvserpent) production and mastering by long-time At War with False Noise cohort Andy Lippoldt of Persistence in Mourning. The simply amazing artwork was created by vocalist /guitarist Darcy Nutt, while layout and design was summoned by Stephen O’Malley.

If you’re wondering what might motivate three of thinky-thinky metal’s most luminous outfits – Steve Von Till’s Harvestman, Minsk and U.S. Christmas – to come together and put out a three-way split of 11 Hawkwind covers, the answer seems blindingly obvious: They all really like Hawkwind. Duh.

And with good reason, since that British band, who last year celebrated their 40th anniversary, are more or less the foundation on which multiple generations of space rock have been built and have had an unprecedented, unequaled influence on sonic psychedelia. Hell, I can’t even get through a space rock review without mentioning Hawkwind at least once. Why would Harvestman, Minsk and U.S. Christmas want to tribute to Hawkwind? Maybe the more appropriate question is “What took so long?”

What makes Neurot’s Hawkwind Triad unique, at least in a “Hey, we did something different” kind of way, is that the 11 tracks – divided four, four and three to U.S. Christmas, Harvestman and Minsk, respectively – aren’t divided by band. The Hawkwind Triad opens with U.S. Christmas, then follows with Harvestman, then Minsk, and so on, with no band ever having two tracks in a row (and Minsk bowing out after track seven) until the end of the album. The idea is that it should flow like a record instead of a three-way split, and it works in some spots better than others. But since they’re presenting the tracks in such a way as to mesh the three groups, I thought it might be fun to break them back up for a band-by-band review (the “prick” impulse strikes again). Observe:

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To call Steve Von Till or any of the other human components making up Neurosis a genius at this point is moot. Monday comes after Sunday and these dudes are brilliant; that’s just the way it goes. Nonetheless, among the myriad solo projects, contributions and bands the members are involved with, Von Till‘s experimental Harvestman output stands alone in its blend of complex textures and willful bucking of structure. 2005′s Lashing the Rye established the project as an outlet free from creative boundaries, and 2009′s In a Dark Tongue (both on Neurot) thwarts expectation by including psychedelic jamming amidst the rich, droning tones.

He was in the car when I called him over the weekend and warned that he might have to interrupt the interview at any moment on account of, as he put it, “Kids and dogs,” but we nonetheless forged ahead and I was given the chance to pick his brain as regards his processes, techniques, how his home studio affects composition and — solely because I couldn’t resist asking — what it was like for Neurosis to play with Heaven and Hell in Seattle. As ever, the guitarist/vocalist was cordial and accommodating, and the resulting Q&A is available for reading after the jump. Please enjoy.

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