It hasn’t even been two weeks since we told you to listen to Israeli post-metal fiends NÜR and yet here we are, premiering another track from their upcoming EP, ahead of its release this week. This time, we have “Water”, a track which digs even deeper than the previous one into the abysses of sound that NÜR call their home, channeling a kind of nasty, crusty post-metal that more than justifies the LLNN comparisons we drew last time. Head on down below to stream this dirty little piece of aggression and we’ll see you after the cut for some more words.
The word that comes immediately to mind once “Water” ends is probably “oomph”. The track, from first chord and deep scream to the last frayed end of nerve-wrecking guitars, carries an immense punch to it. Like the aforementioned LLNN, this has to do with the contrast between the incredibly low chords that make up the backbone of the track and the high-pitched screams which start to kick in near the middle of it. The result is a break in the oppression but one which just leads to a different kind of heaviness, a different kind of anger and pain.
All of this makes sense when you take into account where NÜR are from. The northern-ish city of Haifa has fast become a hotbed for heavy, pissed off, and filthy music in Israel, spawning a multitude of bands in the style. Considering that NÜR contains members from said bands (Östra Torn, Barren Hope, Akrabut), it’s not surprising that they’d make the same kind of style of music. Here, however, there’s an element of ponder-some madness added in, a kind of edge that elevates the music from “just” heavy to something punishing in a deeper sense.
NÜR’s debut EP releases on February 2nd, via Suicide Records.