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This is billed as 'atmospheric' Black Metal, which would normally make me wary, but it comes from the solid Heidens Hart label, and so it gets some credit. Thankfully, this is not some post-rock/shoegaze bullshit, this is Atmospheric Black Metal that doesn't forget the 'Metal' part of the equation.

This is really a rerelease of this band's demo from 2007, even though they have a debut full-length coming out very soon. This band has put out 5 demos in the last decade, and it remains mysterious to me why they took so long to get signed, as this is some good stuff. Murw are all about murky, moody compositions with drawn-out riffing and a primitive mix job that smushes all the instruments together into a sound not that dissimilar from bands like Xasthur, if not as extreme.

Strong melodies and a brooding atmosphere make this highly listenable, and even if it goes on a bit long, the musical ideas are well-developed, and the work as a whole feels very complete and unified. A strong demo from a good band.