New edition of the Belgian band's third album from 1981: inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's universe, Ceux du Dehors is a key release for the band. It sometimes suggests a darker and more complex version of the motorik minimalism of classical music contemporaries Philip Glass and Steve Reich.
This album finds the group continuing to evolve and return to the more general and varied chamber music sound of their first release, except with more precision and skill. The tricky charts of percussionist Daniel Denis and new keyboardist Andy Kirk are executed with great panache. The labyrinthine compositions are typically filled with unexpected twists and turns, and angular repetitions of jagged riffs that accelerate, decelerate and mutate in passages of acute tension or quiet but ominous dread.
Univers Zéro is an instrumental progressive Belgian band formed in 1974 by drummer Daniel Denis. The band is known for playing dark music heavily influenced by 20th century chamber music. Even if the line-up changed a lot over the decades, the overall sound of U.Z. remained fairly consistent.
