Urzah Interview: Bigger & Bolder: Talking 'A Tranquil Void'

Bristol’s progressive sludge quartet Urzah, are back with their much-anticipated sophomore album ‘A Tranquil Void’. It is the follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut album ‘The Scorching Gaze’ (2024, APF Records). The band’s sonic world draws on both the intensely personal – rage, loss, grief and self-doubt – and a profound awe and vulnerability in the face of the celestial and natural worlds, framing visceral human struggle within vast cycles of death, decay and rebirth. Conceptually, ‘The Scorching Gaze’ and ‘A Tranquil Void’ function as a visual, musical and thematic diptych; where their debut burned brightly with the rage and destruction of an erupting volcano, their new LP captures the cathartic, contemplative still that follows. Across 8 tracks, ‘A Tranquil Void’ pushes Urzah’s sound even further, combining brutal riffs, complicated meter and searing guitar tone with deeper explorations of space, dynamics and atmosphere, incorporating folk influences and drones built from cello and guitar. ‘A Tranquil Void’ will be released on June 5th, 2026, via APF Records. Recorded at Stage 2 Studios, Bath, in November 2025, the LP was produced, mixed and mastered by Josh Gallop. Cello was provided by Luke Clemenger, with additional vocals from Dave Cook (Empire of Dust), Chris Wilson (Row of Ashes) and Victoria Bourne (The Spark’s Desire). The album artwork was created by Indonesian artist Putra Satria Nugraha. To celebrate the release of their new album, Urzah are hosting a launch party at Exchange Bristol (main room) on Saturday 25th July with special guests HUNDRED YEAR OLD MAN, MOUNTAINSCAPE and DEAD SPACE CHAMBER MUSIC. Saturday 23rd May - Bristol, Loco Klub (Temple of Doom festival) Friday 29th May - Bath, The Bell Wednesday 10th June - Portsmouth, Edge of the Wedge Thursday 11th June - Brighton, The Pipeline Friday 12th June - Kent, Poco Loco, Chatham Saturday 13th June - London, The Devonshire Arms, Camden Friday June 26th - Newport, McCann's Rock N Ale Bar Sunday June 28th - Torquay, Arena Saturday 25th July - Bristol Album Launch Party, Exchange Saturday 1st August - Chelmsford - Bay Days Festival In this interview, we dig into the detail behind the album with Urzah’s Tom McElveen (vocals/guitar), the journey to its release, playing live, and so much more. Find out more here: https://bio.site/urzah Website: https://gbhbl.com/ LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/gbhbl Ko-Fi (Buy us a coffee): https://ko-fi.com/gbhbl Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GBHBL Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gbhbl/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/gbhbl.com Threads: https://www.threads.net/@gbhbl Contact: [email protected] Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/gbhbl Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5A4toGR0qap5zfoR4cIIBo Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/hr/podcast/the-gbhbl-podcasts/id1350465865 Intro/Outro music created by HexedRiffsStudios YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKSpZ6roX36WaFWwQ73Cbbg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hexedriffsstudio