SONG PREMIERE: Polish Experimental Metal Band Youdash

I’ve been able to bring you a lot of great material, and thanks to a handful of labels a lot of it has been from Poland.  The Polish metal scene has always had a diverse roster of bands, and in 2016 it seems to be getting more exposure worldwide.  Another group from the country you should be paying attention to is Youdash, who released their debut full length ‘Astrophobia’ independently back in October before getting picked up by Deformeathing Production for an expanded CD release on December 16^th.  Youdash’s origins go back to a band called Metalmorphosis who were around as early as 1998, so they’ve had plenty of time to perfect their particular take on experimental metal and two EP’s have preceded ‘Astrophobia’.  With ideas that pull in everything from death metal, Dillinger Escape Plan and Car Bomb like time changes, and Mr. Bungle type weirdness Youdash remains unpredictable, and today we’re excited to give you a sample of that with a premiere for the song Celestial Phenomena.

Celestial Phenomena wastes no time in showcasing the heavier side of Youdash’s sound, as it launches immediately into abrasive leads and a chugging base that has a hint of electronic weirdness permeating it.  Early on it reminds me a bit of progressive death metal, especially with the sudden shifts into fast and slow sections that skew towards the heavier, dense end of the spectrum.  Around halfway in the instrumentals throw some more curveballs, with the type of technical twists and turns that are reminiscent of mathcore and other bands of that nature.  It’s clear that these guys like to keep you on your toes, and despite the fact that all of the passages that make up Celestial Phenomena don’t stay in one place for too long there are still hooks that will pull you right in.  The further you get into this song the more experimental it gets, with a sudden drop in the distortion and a jazzier/funkier passage that gives off a Mr. Bungle or Dog Fashion Disco vibe, which I definitely appreciate.  Youdash is brutal and aggressive but also has a playful feel to their dizzying transitions, and that’s kept me coming back to see what new details I notice that I didn’t catch the previous time through.

With the instrumentals heading all over the place, it makes sense that the vocals change a lot too.  They’re not quite as spastic and unpredictable, but there’s still a lot more variation when compared to some of the other metal bands out there.  Lead singer Ropa has one of those lower pitched, raspy screams/growls and heads up and down the pitch range to hit both guttural lows and ear piercing highs.  There are also some cleaner ranges that rear their head during some of the more experimental sections, and this somewhat oddball flair is part of what makes Youdash distinguishable from some of the other groups out there.  I haven’t checked out the rest of ‘Astrophobia’ just yet, but if the vocals maintain this same level of back and forth with the harsh ranges I’m definitely going to be spending a good deal of time with it.

Strap in and prepare for the back and forth craziness Youdash has to offer.  Harsh, heavy grooves and frenetic tempo changes are at the core of ‘Astrophobia’ but there’s some experimental weirdness too, and that’s quite appealing.  You may have to give it a few times through to fully take everything in.  ‘Astrophobia’ is out December 16^th from Deformeathing Production.

Youdash | Deformeathing Production