UKĆ - Coming Out – Love & Hate Diaries Review

There albums that we need to listen more and more to get the band well what to write here. Sometimes inspiration isn’t an easy thing to find. It’s not the music; it’s not the band; it’s just finding the right words to say. I worry a lot on what I write about the bands and the albums that trust me to review their albums. Most of the times, it’s the work of their lives. It’s never only an album. It’s a band made of people with their dreams, their inspiration, their path, and other things. That’s the case of UKĆ with “Coming Out – Love & Hate Diaries,” their sophomore album.

UKĆ, a one-man progressive black metal project, is a project of the enigmatic mastermind Łukasz “Icanraz” Sarnacki, who is a name well-versed in the metal circles for his contributions to bands like Corruption, Christ Agony, Devilish Impressions, Hermh, Abused Majesty, Virgin Snatch, Darzamat, Voidfire, embarked on this solitary journey in 2017. UKĆ is a solo project in the truest sense, as Łukasz single-handedly wields every instrument – from vocals and drums to guitars, bass, and keyboards. His musical odyssey has been a deeply personal and introspective one.

About the album, Icanraz shares:

“The album contains 8 extensive compositions filled to the brim with emotions and very personal lyrics. It’s progressive metal with a rock flair and black metal aura where stylistic boundaries seem to be non-existent. This music is aimed at people with open minds and is my absolute artistic coming out. It was the first time I stepped out of my comfort zone and did something of this magnitude.“

I couldn’t agree more with the part of being a Progressive Metal with a Rock flair and Black Metal aura. That’s exactly what I found here with “Coming Out – Love & Hate Diaries,” an album full of references. Though UKĆ’s inconografy is totally driven to Black Metal music, what the fan will find it here is a mix of many influences where Black Metal is only one of them. The most important, but one of them. Vocals, for instance, are not gutural. They are harsh, but not gutural. There are also lots of despair and urges, but they’re not the vocals Black Metal fans are used to. Album warmer “King for a Day” begins with a Black Metal flair instrumentals, but when vocals come evrything changes giving the fan the feeling of Doom Metal. The guitars here showcase many elements of Post Black Metal – whatever this means. By the way, this is an album I think should be better labeled as Post Black Metal due to all the shifts in tempo and mood as in “Fading Away” whose vocals are more for Thrash Metal than to Black Metal even though instrumentals tell another story.

As an outcome of only one sick mind, “Coming Out – Love & Hate Diaries,” would be better explained as a concept album due to all the comes and goes. There are so many elements that are out of the Black Metal box which belong to an other sphere of musicality. The spirit of the album fits with Black Metal, but not the music. I guess this explains better.

UKĆ “Coming Out – Love & Hate Diaries” will be released on February 16th via Theogonia Records.

Track Listing: