Alcatraz Line up: 2022, 2024

Uada formed in Portland, Oregon, some ten years ago. They are ambitious as hell and their debut ‘Devoid of Light’ (2016) was showered with superlatives. Inspired by heathen cults and the experience of nature, their post black metal marries the intensity of Dissection and Mgla with the melodic character of Iron Maiden’s output. The songs on their sophomore effort ‘Cult of a Dying Sun’ (2018) are drawn out and the use of acoustic guitar and piano interludes adds more variation. Their third outing, ‘Djinn’ (2020), put to rest any lingering Mgla comparisons once and for all. Uada are carving out their own melodic black metal path but on ‘Djinn’ they repeatedly dipped their toes into the post punk and thrash pool. The on-stage hoods and jackets add an air of mystery to the appearance of this ascending melodic black metal band. Their fourth outing ‘Crepuscule Natura’ was slated for a 2022 release but the band weren’t happy with the result and started over from scratch. They were aiming for a perfect result and in 2023 they got it just… perfect..