UNIVERS ZERO Univers Zero 2xLP lovecraftian 70s prog rock MAGMA zeuhl art zoyd

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26

UNIVERS ZERO Univers Zero LP

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(Sub Rosa)
*** This is a new and unplayed item, direct from the CRUCIAL BLAST shop. ***

DESCRIPTION FROM CRUCIAL BLAST:
      One of my favorite slabs of classic dark prog rock has just been reissued in vinyl, in gatefold packaging.
     Regular readers of the C-Blast list have no doubt noticed that I'm a HUGE fan of the legendary Belgian chamber-prog band, and their latest album Clivages was in fact the featured new release for the last Crucial Blast new arrivals list. I've never carried their back catalog here in the shop however, so in keeping with my ongoing effort to try to turn more of you people on to the devilishly dark and baroque prog of UZ, I've picked up almost their entire catalog of releases. For those of you who are unfamiliar with 'em, Univers Zero were one of prog rock's darkest and creepiest sounding bands, a classically influenced ensemble based in Belgium that was formed and guided by the unique vision of drummer Daniel Denis, who had played with French prog gods Magma for a brief period before forming UZ. The music of Univers Zero was distinguished by its connection to 20th century music, taking more inspiration from the dissonant sounds of composers like Bartók, Penderecki and Ligeti than from any of the then-current rock forms, and performing with classical instrumentation that included cello, violin, bassoon, viola, harmonium and piano, taking a good decade before they would finally start to utilize electric instruments.
     The music of Univers Zero, especially early on their first couple of albums, was also notably dark and oppressive, dissonant and sometimes shockingly heavy, a sort of gothic chamber-prog that would often incorporate Lovecraftian themes of cosmic horror into their song titles and imagery, thanks to Daniel Denis's longrunning fascination with the works of H.P. Lovecraft (which was also noticeable in the names of two of his previous bands, Necronomicon and Arkham). Their Bartók-meets-Magma sound and the seriously creepy vibe that still informs their music up to the present day makes UZ one of my favorite prog bands ever, and their first three albums in particular (Univers Zero, Ceux Du Dehors and especially Heresie) are highly recommended listening to any fans of serious aural menace. Since the 1980's, the prog label Cuneiform Records (located right down the road from C-Blast HQ in Silver Spring) has been reissuing the Univers Zero catalog in high-quality editions, often fleshed out with bonus material and liner notes, and all of the available UZ titles on Cuneiform are now in stock here at Crucial Blast.
      The 1977 debut album from Univers Zero is one of their sparsest records, the acoustic chamber-prog much more spacious here in this early incarnation of the group. The smaller ensemble evoked the Bartok/Penderecki influence through the dissonant violins and other stringed instruments, and the staccato stabs alight on the heavy drone of the bassoon and atonal guitar riffs to create a creeping, glacial ambience that is comparably minimal next to their subsequent albums. This is dark, dark stuff though, the heavy, aggressive drumming and jagged, tension-filled arrangements instilling unease in these five lengthy tracks. The original album was chilling enough, probably second only to Heresie in the creep-out department, but the new Cuneiform reissue of the debut adds even more blackness to the album by including a previously unreleased live performance of "La Faulx" (off of Heresie) that stretches it's black wings across the almost half-hour length, a Boschian nightmare of harmonium drones, slithering contorted bass, hellish vocalizations, pounding percussion, screeching strings, strange garbled vocal noises and tortured wordless screams, the atmosphere on this track absolutely blackened and evil, sounding like some sort of blackened chamber-doom sans guitars. Highly recommended.   © CRUCIAL BLAST
THIS IS A NEW, UNPLAYED ITEM. Please note that for LP vinyl orders, we usually remove the vinyl from the jacket prior to shipment in order to avoid seam splits or any other kind sleeve/jacket damage that might occur during transit. This may require that we open the shrinkwrap on the record in order to carefully remove the vinyl from the inside of the jacket (if the record was originally shrinkwrapped). Feel free to contact us with any questions regarding this policy.

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