Apparently I have a raging hard-on for the particular brand of brutality Australia has been dealing to the world in the past few years, King Parrot, Portal and now Ur Draugr are added to that list. Though they’ve only graced us with a 3 song EP for now (thanks to a computer crash that has cost metalheads everywhere what could have been an amazing album), Ur Draugr look to be a force to be reckoned with. Mixing blast beats and prog-influenced guitars that bring to mind the best parts of Behemoth and Opeth, The Wretched Ascetic gently woos you with its swirling guitar lines before dragging you into the vicious maelstrom that is the EPs title track.

The three tracks presented here (two in actuality as the last acts as an outro for the main show) do a great job of whetting the listeners appetite for more proggy riffwork while offering a peek into what we can only hope will be a full length release sometime this year. The only fault I can really find for this EP is that it’s so damn short. You get so caught up and ensorcelled by the music that you don’t realize it’s coming to an end until the last track runs out and you’re dropped back into the real world, slightly saddened that the ride is over.

This is one of those releases that I’ve pestered anyone around me that has even a minor interest in metal to listen too. I’ve found myself coming back to it again and again since i received the album to pick apart the layers and just get lost in the music, often to the point that I find myself listening to this on repeat. I may have a problem, but at least that problem sounds damn good. I’m going to abstain from picking a favorite track for this one for obvious reasons and instead post the stream of it below so you too can get as obsessed (addicted?) to these three tracks as I am. I for one can’t wait to see what the future holds for Ur Draugr.

Find Scotty on Twitter hitting the repeat button just one more time.