Unrest - Grindcore

Share this on Facebook | Share this on Twitter

UNREST make a lot of noise for three guys. There are times when they show promise and talent, when you forget about the rest of what you’ve heard and realize that yes, there is a silver lining to this cloud. The best track to give evidence for this is undoubtedly “Nothing (That’s All You Have to Give)”, which contains the most understandable vocals on the record, the most inventive formula, and the catchiest riff. It’s over before you realize this though, as every song on the album is way shorter than your average song from other bands; the longest is just over three minutes.

Perhaps the reason for this is that every song is just so damn fast- each one feels like it’s been recorded, then sped up to twice the original speed. The result is that about half the tracks sound messy and dis-organized, and the vocals are totally unintelligible for the most part. This makes little sense, as the artists have put effort into developing their lyrics to be meaningful, so why ruin the process by gutturally screaming them? There are vocalists who manage to scream intelligibly, so it’s a shame when some can’t.

While many tracks sound the same and ultimately end up being pointless, there are a few exceptions. A bass-y section in “You Take” shows promise, “Quit” carries a fun riff and a half-decent rhythm, “Faith is a Hearse” has a very catchy riff towards the very end of the track, “Identity in the Internet Age” has a good riff somewhere in there, and the aforementioned “Nothing (That’s All You Have to Give)” takes centre place as the standout track. “False Brotherhood” is pure filler, being messy and largely sub-par.

When a band takes the focus off of their lyrics by making the vocals this messy, they simply have to deliver on the musical front. Luckily UNREST does so for a chunk of the record, but there are just too many tracks where this is not the case.