THE FIRST OFFERING FROM Udd, COURTESY OF MORK’S THOMAS ERIKSEN. PRIMITIVE, RAW & REAL NORWEGIAN BLACK METAL.

Udd is the new act from Thomas Eriksen of current Norwegian black metal masters, Mork. As his main band evolves ever further into complex & elaborately textured moods & atmospheres & after reflecting back on Morks first album Isebakke as the framework for this new vessel in the pursuit of pure black metal grimness, Eriksen delved deeply into this stream of influence to create somewhat of an antithesis to current day Mork, with something utterly nekro in its motivations & execution. An unpretentious exploration of the brutal reality of death & the lack of meaning in life.

With a completely stripped down & cold approach, bringing to mind the spellbinding, almost dungeon-like recording sounds from the burgeoning early 1990s black metal movement, this is an exploration of absolute & relentless darkness, for a sparse & primitive trip through the mental abyss of raw feeling. Influence for this self-titled opus also came from outside of the sphere of metal, having been introduced to the works of cinematographer Jrg Buttgereit, more specifically Der Todesking, with its art based on the raw & ugly truths that humanity bares within its flesh. Udd is therefore Eriksens Der Todesking.

Performances & engineering duties were conducted by Eriksen himself at Atomen Studios in Halden, Norway, with mastering carried out by Jack Control at Enormous Door (Darkthrone, Mork).