American black metal has been in a rather mediocre state lately. Homogenized and boring seems to be the order of the day. With that, however, there is still a band that breaks barriers and delivers a listening experience that is new and unique. I’m talking about, of course, UADA. They are the pinnacle of American Black Metal, and nobody even comes close. The irony here is that their current release is an acoustic record. It’s an EP called Interwoven.
When a black metal band releases an acoustic EP, the results can fall anywhere between revelatory and utterly unnecessary. Stripped arrangements can expose compositional depth, but they can also reveal when a band’s power relies almost entirely on distortion, speed, and atmosphere. With Interwoven, UADA attempts something more ambitious than a simple unplugged novelty. The record revisits one track from each chapter of the band’s catalog and threads them together with a new aesthetic vocabulary—one built from acoustic guitars, cello, and the stark vulnerability of unshielded vocals.
Right away, Interwoven establishes that this isn’t just black metal with the distortion dialed down. The opening track, “Djinn,” unfolds slowly, with delicate guitar figures and the mournful weight of C.E. Brown’s cello creating an atmosphere that feels closer to neofolk ritual than to the frostbitten intensity most listeners associate with UADA. Throughout the record, Superchi’s voice (in vastly different form than what we’re accustomed to hearing) becomes the central instrument. In the band’s traditional recordings, vocals often function as another textural element within the storm. Here they are exposed, shifting between hushed incantations, plaintive melodies, and the occasional shadow of the harsher tones fans will recognize. The effect is intimate and slightly unsettling, like hearing a familiar myth retold around a fire rather than screamed across a battlefield.
Selections like “Devoid of Light,” “The Dark Winter,” and “The Purging Fire” benefit from this reimagining. The acoustic arrangements reveal that beneath the band’s usual layers of tremolo picking and blast beats lie compositions that were always more melodic than their genre tag might suggest. The cello work is particularly effective, weaving through the arrangements like a spectral second voice and grounding the songs with a sense of weight and gravity.
The two covers included here demonstrate the breadth of UADA’s influences. “Der Brandtaucher,” originally by ROME, fits seamlessly into the EP’s aesthetic. Its somber, martial atmosphere aligns naturally with the project’s ritualistic tone. The band’s take on “Something in the Way” by Nirvana is more surprising but equally effective. Instead of trying to reinvent the song dramatically, UADA leans into its inherent bleakness, amplifying the quiet despair that always lurked at the heart of the original. Honestly, I love this version as much as I love the original. They really did justice to the composition.
What makes Interwoven even more compelling is the sense that it wasn’t constructed as a calculated side project. According to Superchi, the concept dates back to the very day the band formed in 2014. That long incubation shows in the record’s coherence. Rather than sounding like an afterthought or a novelty release, the EP feels like a missing piece of the band’s identity finally coming into view.
The production reinforces that intimacy. Recorded and mixed by Superchi at Obsidian Spells and mastered by Arthur Rizk, the sound remains organic and spacious. It sounds great in my car. It sounds great in my office. Every creak of the acoustic guitars and every resonant swell of the cello is allowed to breathe. Peter Beste’s cover art complements the mood perfectly, suggesting something ancient and contemplative rather than overtly sinister.
Of course, listeners expecting the icy ferocity that made UADA’s reputation may find Interwoven much more subdued. This is not the band at their most aggressive. It is the band at their most exposed. But that vulnerability is precisely what gives the record its power. It’s not electric and distorted, but it hits nearly just as hard.
In the end, Interwoven feels less like a departure and more like a revelation. Beneath the blackened armor that UADA have worn for years lies a quieter, more reflective musical core. By stripping everything down to strings, voice, and atmosphere, the band shows that the darkness they explore doesn’t require distortion to resonate. Sometimes it only needs silence, wood, and breath. This is the best record I’ve heard so far in 2026.
Release Date: April 10th, 2026
Record Label: Independent
Genre: Black Metal
Musicians:
- Jake Superchi / All vocals, guitars, and percussion
- Nate Verschoor / Bass
- C.E. Brown / Cello
Interwoven Tracklist:
- Djinn
- Devoid of Light
- The Dark (Winter)
- The Purging Fire
- Der Brandtaucher (Rome cover)
- Something In The Way (Nirvana cover)
Order the album here.
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