Unearthly - The Unearthly

Unearthly

The Unearthly

by Marcos "Big Daddy" Garcia at 21 July 2014, 9:11 PM

There’s a great duality into Metal bands: the need to improve from one album to another, but as well to hold to your personality. But some bands can deal with it naturally, as this problem is nothing with them, and the Brazilian quartet UNEARTHLY shows that the band has a lot to show with their new album, “The Unearthly”, for they made a perfect masterpiece, showing a new way of making their work, but keeping their musical features.

The main theme of the lyrics deals with the relation of men with the unearthly things and symbols, what is reflected both by music and lyrics. So, musically, “The Unearthly” isn’t only an evolution of what was shown on “Flagellum Dei”, but with a completely different insight of the band’s own musical essence. It’s a different way, but holding ground. F. Eregion vocals are better on high tunes and low grunts, Vinnie Tyr shows a better and fine work on his guitars, and M. Mictian and B. Drummond form a strong, heavy and well worked rhythmic basis (by the way, Drummond’s coming to drums gave the band a more diverse and technique work than before). And musically, “The Unearthly” has a slower insight, even with moments more accelerated tempos, but the Brazilian regional music elements are more evident than before, permeating each song perfectly, as a layer of Brazilian feeling under the Metal sound, and the use of catching chorus helps the work to be more accessible to many fans. Speaking in a direct form: “The Unearthly” is a new statement on Death/Black Metal, an album that spans the style boundaries.

Having F. Eregion, B. Drummond and Fernando Campos making the production duties, with recording and mixing taking place at AM Studios on Rio de Janeiro, and the mastering done by the hands of George Bokos (former ROTTING CHRIST guitarist) making the mastering on Grindhouse Studios, on Athens (Greece), “The Unearthly” has a more direct and dry sound quality, what makes their Black Metal influences comes to evidence, but as well turns the band’s music more comprehensible.

The artwork and cover is a fine draw done by F. Eregion and M. Mictian, giving embodiment to their musical and lyrical works.

Beside the album is a perfect masterpiece, you can hear at first “The Sin Offering”, with great vocals and guitars with a slow tempos, “Eshu” (the is introduced by a religious hymn used on Quimbanda grounds here in Brazil), having a great drumming as well a great vocal duty (by the way, the lyrics are on Brazilian Portuguese), the abrasive “The Unearthly”, with great guitars and a chorus of easy assimilation, the great “Agens Mortis”, a very dynamic song with Maria Fernanda Cals (guitarist from INDISCIPLINE and IMPACTO PROFANO) doing a guest appearance in female vocals, “The Dove and the Crow” and its hooky and fantastic tempos and drumming, and the slower and fantastic “From Womb to Reborn” and “Aisle to Everything”.

“The Unearthly” is a natural born Metal classic, and UNEARTHLY is one of the most prominent and creative from Brazil.