Another 2022 Sub Rosa vinyl reissue from the classic Univers Zero catalog; this LP edition was remixed and remastered at the same time as the Cuneiform CD reissue, and features the original main three tracks. The bonus track “Chaos Hermetique" on the CD is NOT included here. Here’s my original review for the CD release:

Regular readers of the C-Blast list have no doubt noticed that I'm a HUGE fan of the legendary Belgian chamber-prog band, and their latest album Clivages was in fact the featured new release for the last Crucial Blast new arrivals list. I've never carried their back catalog here in the shop however, so in keeping with my ongoing effort to try to turn more of you people on to the devilishly dark and baroque prog of UZ, I've picked up almost their entire catalog of releases. For those of you who are unfamiliar with 'em, Univers Zero were one of prog rock's darkest and creepiest sounding bands, a classically influenced ensemble based in Belgium that was formed and guided by the unique vision of drummer Daniel Denis, who had played with French titans Magma for a brief period before forming UZ.

The music of Univers Zero was distinguished by its connection to 20th century music, taking more inspiration from the dissonant sounds of composers like Bartok, Penderecki and Ligeti than from any of the then-current rock forms, and performing with classical instrumentation that included cello, violin, bassoon, viola, harmonium and piano, taking a good decade before they would finally start to utilize electric instruments. The music of Univers Zero, especially early on their first couple of albums, was also notably dark and oppressive, dissonant and sometimes shockingly heavy, a sort of gothic chamber-prog that would often incorporate Lovecraftian themes of cosmic horror into their song titles and imagery, thanks to Daniel Denis's long-running fascination with the works of H.P. Lovecraft (which was also noticeable in the names of two of his previous bands, Necronomicon and Arkham). Their Bartok-meets-Magma sound and the seriously creepy vibe that still informs their music up to the present day makes UZ one of my favorite prog bands ever, and their first three albums in particular (Univers Zero, Ceux Du Dehors and especially Heresie) are highly recommended listening to any fans of serious aural menace. Since the 1980's, Cuneiform Records (located right down the road from C-Blast HQ in Silver Spring) has been reissuing the Univers Zero catalog in high-quality editions, often fleshed out with bonus material and liner notes, and all of the available UZ titles on Cuneiform are now in stock here at Crucial Blast.

The most terrifying and dreadful of all of Univers Zero's albums, Heresie might just be the creepiest prog album ever. Sounds like a lot of hype if you've never heard it, but this album, now over thirty years old, is still a soundtrack tailor-made for nightmares, an aural bad dream, an orchestral march for demons, a formal score for a black mass. The band's previous debut album was a solemn, eerie enough introduction for their formidable brand of chamber-prog, but barely scratched at just how fucking frightening Univers Zero's music could actually get. At least some of this can be attributed to the expanded lineup; the chamber ensemble of drums, guitar, bass, oboe, viola, bassoon, violin, and keyboards from the debut was now joined by the massive pipe organ sound from guitarist/keyboardist Roger Trigaux, who adds a cavernous cathedral ambience to UZ's already dark sound that is chill inducing on this album. Like a cross between Ligeti, Bartok and Magma, pitch-black and highly dissonant, with creepy vocalizations and guttural chanting, long stretches of winding serpentine dread (such as on the monstrous opener "La Faulx") and bleak, oppressive ambience. The second track "Jack The Ripper" evokes absolute dread through the stabbing violins and screeching, scraped viola and bizarre demonic chants that almost sound like some sort of proto-blackdoom. Definitely Univers Zero at its darkest, and essential for anyone into pitch-black chamber music and prog.