Today marks the release of A Tranquil Void, the long-awaited second album from Bristol progressive sludge quartet Urzah, available now via APF Records on vinyl, CD, digital download and streaming platforms worldwide.

Following the critical acclaim of their 2024 debut The Scorching Gaze, Urzah return with a record that expands every aspect of their sound. Across eight ambitious tracks, A Tranquil Void balances crushing sludge and doom-laden heaviness with soaring post-metal atmospherics, intricate arrangements and moments of genuine beauty and reflection.

Conceived as a companion piece to The Scorching Gaze, the new album explores themes of grief, healing, memory, renewal and humanity's place within the vast cosmos. Where its predecessor burned with volcanic fury, A Tranquil Void finds power in contemplation, transformation and rebirth.

Recorded at Stage 2 Studios, Bath, and produced, mixed and mastered by Josh Gallop, the album sees Urzah pushing their creative boundaries further than ever before. Cello contributions from Luke Clemenger and guest vocals from Dave Cook (Empire of Dust), Chris Wilson (Row of Ashes) and Victoria Bourne (The Spark's Desire) add further depth to an already expansive sonic landscape.

Since emerging in 2020, Urzah have steadily built a reputation as one of the UK's most exciting progressive heavy bands, sharing stages with the likes of Bongzilla, Mastiff, Tuskar, Greenleaf, OHHMS and Dopelord while developing a sound that draws inspiration from Neurosis, DVNE, Mastodon, Elder and Russian Circles without ever losing its own identity.

A Tranquil Void is available now from the APF Records store, including the stunning limited-edition 'Supernova' vinyl variant.

To celebrate the album's release, Urzah will host a special launch show at Exchange, Bristol, on 25th July, joined by Hundred Year Old Man, Mountainscape and Dead Space Chamber Music.

Stream the album, order your copy and immerse yourself in one of the most ambitious and rewarding heavy records of 2026.

NXMAD have today released “Amber”, the second track to be taken from their upcoming album The Second Fall, out 5th July via APF Records.

Following the release of first single “Vertigo”, “Amber” pushes further into the band’s newer, more aggressive direction - a full-throttle blast of choppy riffs, relentless momentum and frantic double-pedal drumming. Drawing from the same strain of sludge-fuelled aggression as High on Fire, the track captures the sharper, faster-edged approach running throughout The Second Fall.

The album marks NXMAD’s first full-length in eight years and was recorded and mixed by Joe Clayton at No Studio, before being mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege.

The Second Fall is released on 5th July 2026 via APF Records.

Listen to “Amber” and pre-order the album here: https://linktr.ee/APFRecords

Bristol progressive sludge quartet Urzah have released their powerful new single ‘The Call Beneath’, the third track to be unveiled from their forthcoming album A Tranquil Void, due for release on 5th June via APF Records. 

A full-force progressive sludge rager, ‘The Call Beneath’ showcases Urzah at their most intense and emotionally charged, combining crushing riffs, shifting time signatures and cathartic atmosphere into one of the heaviest tracks the band has released to date.

Speaking about the song, guitarist and vocalist Tom McElveen explains:

“This track is about dealing with grief for the first time, and letting yourself be pulled into its depths so the earlier version of yourself can die and a new one can be reborn and ‘rise to the surface’. This process can only happen when you stop resisting it.

We play with dynamics and moving time signatures to build and rebuild tension, taking us through to the final cathartic stage of rebirth at the pinnacle.”

Following previous singles ‘Infernal Star I’ and ‘Hunter in the Veil’, ‘The Call Beneath’ continues to reveal the scale and ambition of A Tranquil Void. The album expands Urzah’s distinctive blend of sludge, doom, post-metal and post-hardcore into darker, more atmospheric territory, while retaining the raw emotional weight and colossal heaviness that defined their acclaimed debut The Scorching Gaze.

Recorded at Stage 2 Studios, Bath and produced, mixed and mastered by Josh Gallop, A Tranquil Void promises to be Urzah’s most ambitious release yet.

Listen to ‘The Call Beneath’ via this link: https://linktr.ee/APFRecords

You can pre-order A Tranquil Void (LP/CD/tee) here on the APF website: https://apfrecords.co.uk/albums/a-tranquil-void

Mancunian hardcore sludge quartet NXMAD have announced their second album The Second Fall, set for release on 5th July via APF Records. 

The record marks the band’s first full-length in eight years, following 2019’s Feral, and presents a more direct and aggressive approach that reflects their current sound. 

The Second Fall was recorded and mixed by Joe Clayton at No Studio and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege. 

Pre-orders for the album are now open. A limited run of 100 LPs on transparent yellow with black marble vinyl is available, alongside digipak CD editions and t-shirt bundles. 

The first single, “Vertigo”, is released this Friday.

Pre-order The Second Fall and follow the release here:

https://apfrecords.co.uk/albums/the-second-fall

Urzah's new single Hunter In The Veil is out today.

The second single from forthcoming album A Tranquil Void, which drops on 5th June, "Hunter in the Veil draws on mythic symbolism and elemental imagery to explore cycles of power, death, and renewal", says the band. "A graceful but menacing feminine presence, the Wolfess evoked in the track exists between worlds as an archetypal force. Death and transformation are portrayed as sacred processes rather than endings, and the sombre outro expresses how our bodily ash returns to the soil and our memories feed rebirth".

Get it in your ears via this link: https://lnkfi.re/fxvly4rj

If you like what you hear, the album is available for pre-order now in our store here on the APF website.

You can catch Urzah live this summer at the following venues:

23rd May - Bristol, Loco Klub (Temple of Doom festival)
29th May - Bath, The Bell
10th Jun - Portsmouth, Edge of the Wedge
11th Jun - Brighton, The Pipeline
12th Jun - Kent, Poco Loco, Chatham
13th Jun - London, The Devonshire Arms, Camden
26th Jun - Newport, McCann's Rock N Ale Bar
28th Jun - Torquay, Arena
25th Jul - Bristol Album Launch Party, Exchange
1st Aug - Chelmsford - Bay Days Festival