Uada
Interwoven

THE REVIEW

Uada, a band that has always managed to leave something memorable for its listeners; this is their description in a nutshell. Americans, inspired by black metal and melodic death metal sounds, on April 10, 2026, released their fifth studio album. However, this time there is an important novelty. Yes, this studio album is not made of new songs, but rather it is an acoustic album in which some of their most well-known tracks are revisited in a folk key. Bands like Agalloch or, even earlier, Bathory, over past decades, have introduced acoustic and/or atmospheric elements into a black metal context, yet here, with this record, we are presented with a product executed entirely acoustically, as if (despite being American) in those cold Scandinavian lands electricity had never existed. This Interwoven opens with an acoustic version of “Djinn,” a track originally featured on the studio album of the same name; the distorted guitars and drums are replaced by arpeggiated acoustic guitars and ethnic instruments, accompanied by an unusually clean voice. The performance, even though mostly reworked, clearly recalls the original track, especially for those already familiar with their past discography; for those approaching this band for the first time, what lies ahead is good folk, perhaps not excessively original, but well-executed. Following this formula, the next reinterpreted track is “Devoid Of Light,” from their self-titled first studio album; here too, some riffs stand out for their effectiveness in an acoustic guise, though part of the black metal aura is inevitably lost—replaced instead by vocals that take on a different and much more central role than in the electric version of the song. “The Dark Winter” and “The Purging Fire” are the other two songs sharing the fate of the previous two; we thus understand their choice to make “unplugged” versions of one track from each of their four studio albums, the most well-known from their discography. This detail, at least from my perspective as I write this review, brings to mind certain anecdotes about Nirvana’s unplugged live set—specifically those concerning Kurt’s decision not to perform some of their best-known songs acoustically, in order not to fall into banality; in this case, although neither their fame nor their musical style is comparable, our Uada have made a diametrically opposite reasoning—a choice that will probably divide fans’ opinions. It is no coincidence that I mentioned Nirvana in this review—in fact, even if we have so far only mentioned four tracks from their four studio albums, the album actually consists of six; the remaining two are covers, one of which is, precisely, “Something In The Way” by Nirvana. What do they have to do with black metal? Clearly nothing, but even though the choice to include two covers is most probably due to discographic reasons, the band demonstrates that they do not like to take refuge in certain genre stereotypes. The other cover is “Der Brandtaucher” by ROME, a neofolk band from Luxembourg; and with these two songs this fifth studio album draws to a close. At the end, in order to sum up this work, it is necessary to empty oneself of every black metal cliché, first and foremost due to its acoustic nature, but above all because of the very structure of the album. As just mentioned, the two covers at the end were probably included because of the need to release this project as an album, since usually below a certain number of tracks and length such releases are considered EPs. Therefore, the band’s will to publish a new album at all costs emerges—lack of ideas or a desire to experiment? This is the dilemma. Judged objectively, we can say that this is an album that flows very smoothly, without too many frills, yet I believe not everyone will come to appreciate this latest work of theirs; it will appeal much more to folk music lovers than to metal fans, and I am deeply convinced of this. Since I believe music should be judged for what it is, I personally endorse this album; it may not shine with originality, but it has all the ingredients to be considered a completed work. However, putting myself in the shoes of an avid extreme metal listener who was probably expecting a fifth album in line with the previous ones, I cannot blame any disappointment. A “sei politico” is the final evaluation of this work, while waiting to see which road Uada will take next.