Architect Jake Superchi elaborates on how isolation segued ito inspiration on the band’s most auspicious album to date.
Having cultivated an ardent following among those in the know, melodic black metal purveyors Uada have maintained a consistent creative output since their lauded 2016 debut, Devoid of Light. Celebrated for their intricacy in the way of composition, balanced with an introspective disposition, the band’s catalog now four albums deep, is one that scores high marks in both style and substance.
For the most recent offering, Crepuscule Natura clocks in at a sprawling 41-minutes – an expansive effort given the six-track listing. Apart from the technical prowess that goes hand-in-hand with songs that play out like chapters on a novel, each of the album’s entries are characterized by a unique illuminating light – a unique contrast to the traditional frost and desolation synonymous with black metal.
Among Uada’s boldest artistic assertions, Crepuscule Natura finds the band’s architect Jake Superchi willing to navigate bleak, abysmal terrain resolute to come out clean on the other side. The continuity of album four from Uada aligns well with the notion of resurrection, rediscovery and the kind of resilience that can only be sourced when someone is forced to find it.
Coinciding with the arrival of arguably the band’s most complete work thus far, Jake Superchi offers a roadmap of his personal voyage into the void and how he chronicled his revelations in along the way.
“THE ABYSS GAZING BACK”
The track opens with a sample, which is the first audio recording of the sound a black hole emanates. This recording was released by NASA in 2022. Due to the nature of the song, as well as an experience I had seeing a black hole while high up in the mountains one night back in 2018 exactly six months to the date before NASA released {the audio] it felt like the perfect way to start the album.
Spending most of my time alone during the pandemic, the entirety of the album’s songs, minus lead guitars, was written before the end of 2020. While having the free time to create and unleash the frustrations within, there was also a lot of time to sit and think and while the mind wandered to dark places, that feeling of being swallowed by a black hole was only getting worse. Facing madness and being overwhelmed by what started to feel like imprisonment, it was imminent that the abyss was lurking and that the only way I could go was inward. Since the title is a bit of a nod to the writers Friedrich Nietzsche and H.P.Lovecraft,
I believe the song itself subconsciously was written in a way to lend a sound to the feeling one may get while reading such heavy subjects.
“CREPUSCULE NATURA“
This is not only the title track, but a song that needed to follow the first song, as it pertains to remembering the power of our own thoughts. In this case, as I stared deeply into the abyss it was my own reflection looking back at me. In this period of reflection, I found the importance of remembering who I am and the strength possessed within.
This song is truly a song that shimmers a light on occult philosophy and the capabilities we have with the small adjustment of mindset. It is also an ode to the wisdom that is found within darkness. Most often enough our brightest moments are spawned here for everything that will come to fruition is born out of the dark.
Musically, I felt this song was a very important callback to the roots of UADA, and in many ways, it felt like a continuation or a reinterpretation of our debut title track “Devoid of Light“, which interestingly enough was also referenced in the first song lyrically.
Conceivably, history repeats itself.
“THE DARK (WINTER)”
This song is a reference to an event that took place in the USA back in late June 2001, just months before 9/11, called “Operation Dark Winter”. This operation was focused on evaluating the inadequacies of a national response during the use of biological weapons against the American populace. The exercise was intended to establish preventative measures and response strategies by increasing governmental and public awareness of the magnitude and potential of such a threat posed by biological weapons. The disastrous contingencies that would result in the massive loss of civilian life were used to exploit the weaknesses of the U.S. healthcare infrastructure and its inability to handle such a threat.
The contingencies were also meant to address the widespread panic that would emerge resulting in mass social breakdown and mob violence. Exploits would also include the many difficulties that the media would face when providing American citizens with the necessary information regarding safety procedures.
The similarities to the pandemic, although Covid was on a much larger scale, were quite extreme. Unfortunately, most people, or even most American citizens are not even aware of “Operation Dark Winter” and that our own government, let alone a conflicting government could or would use such tactics against said citizens. Of course, this song is not meant to sway anyone’s political opinions, rather expanding on the album’s theme of resurrection in a different way.
Each song has its own story and this one just happens to be resurrecting a similar time and experience while having to find the inner strength to push forward. When writing the music for this song, there were some key moments where I could feel the tension that was building up inside and when hearing it back I can remember those days of grinding my teeth to no end.
Although a few of us in the band felt that the opening lead guitar line didn’t really fit the narrative or the vibe of the song, it did eventually grow on us. I suppose it has a “here we go again” or “run rabbit run” sort of energy to it. When I hear it, I can picture government officials laughing as they deploy their war games upon the world all over again.
“RETRAVERSING THE VOID”
This one holds a lot of magic for me personally, as it is one of my favorite lyrical pieces that I’ve ever written. In fact, I’m not even sure if I entirely wrote it myself. Far before I had started writing the lyrics for this album, since the music always comes first, there was a morning when I woke from a dream.
I do not remember the dream nor even had time to think about whatever was floating around in my head at the time as I quickly grabbed my phone and opened my notepad where I am always documenting ideas. Once my notepad was opened I quickly started typing and the first two verses of this song just presented themselves. It truly felt like something had a hold of me as if I was a vessel or a conduit. I don’t think words had ever come so easily nor did I ever experience this sort of autopilot writing before.
After reading back what had just been written I knew that this message had to be shared. Perhaps the abyss had come back bearing gifts and much like the second song on the album it was deep into the void where I had to rediscover myself and remember my purpose. Although the lyrics of the song are not a direct reference, there is a definite connection to the quote “Every man and woman is a star” from The Book of Law by Aleister Crowley. Perhaps whatever entities that are speaking to us through the veil are connected in the great web.
Musically, this song is the most upbeat and uplifting song on the album. As soon as the writing of the music began, I knew that the words already written would find their home here. It just had a real sense of life and energy that made sense for the lyrics. Albeit the song felt as if it could have fit perfectly on our last record, it still had a feeling of something new and reaching into territories we hadn’t quite ventured yet, which I think is fitting for the title itself. This is why “re” was added to traversing. I had been here before, it just felt different in return.
“THROUGH THE WAX THROUGH THE WANE”
This is the closure of the album and one that comes in around twelve minutes long. This song is dedicated to the cycles of the moon and the energy shifts between and upon them. As someone who mostly lives nocturnally, there has always been a deep fascination with the moon and its gravitational pull. Many people believe that the end of a moon’s lunation holds any significant meaning or effect upon themselves, it has always been something that I can feel coming. Like nature’s clockwork, there is always a lesson to learn or a wall to climb in these cycles, and when the moon projects the full reflection of the sunlight against it back down at us below there is an energy that is constantly shifting alongside.
As the album took its toll and the subject of overcoming was rife, closing the album with a song analyzing the trials we go through in a way that I’ve experienced for as long as I can remember.
Musically, this piece felt very similar to the last song on our debut “Black Autumn, White Spring“, which lyrically connects to a season change as opposed to just the lunar transition. Although we aren’t looking to re-write the same album again there were a lot of parallels in the loneliness and the unknown that I had when writing the debut album. I think that is why there were a lot of nods to that first record on this album and why similar feelings presented themselves in the writing stage. Often enough it feels as if we must go backward to move forward, and through the wax and wane of this album cycle we have gone through hell and back.
Crepuscle Natura, from Uada is now available via Eisenwald. Order the release – HERE
Uada are currently on the road on their North American trek along with support from Cloak and Ghost Bath. The run extends through the month of September and closes out with a finale in North Hollywood on October 1st. See a complete list of dates and cities below. Get tickets – HERE
UADA North American tour w/ Cloak and Ghost Bath
9/8: Winnipeg, MB @ The Good Will
9/9: Minneapolis, MN @ Studio B at Skyway Theatre
9/10: Milwaukee, WI @ X-Ray
9/11: Cleveland, OH @ No Class **NEW VENUE**
9/12: Pittsburgh, PA @ Preserving Underground
9/13: Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
9/14: Ottawa, ON @ Brass Monkey
9/15: Quebec City, QC @ La Source De La Martiniere
9/16: Montreal, QC @ Petit Campus
9/17: Brooklyn, NY @ Meadows
9/18: Philadelphia, PA @ Milkboy
9/19: Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery
9/20: Raleigh, NC @ The Pour House
9/21: Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
9/22: New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa
9/23: Houston, TX @ Secret Room
9/25: Austin, TX @ Come and Take It Live
9/26: El Paso, TX @ Rockhouse
9/27: Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad **NEW VENUE**
9/28: Phoenix, AZ @ Pub Rock Live
9/29: Las Vegas, NV @ The Usual Place **NEW VENUE**
9/30: San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick
10/1: North Hollywood, CA @ Knitting Factory
