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Unearthly Trance: Electrocution

26/02/09 || Khlysty

Sometimes I really wonder about the mentality of metal fans: while they seem absolutely ready to cough up the buck for a new, say, Manowar or Iced Earth record, they seem to ignore a band like Unearthly Trance. Which, in my opinion, is a damn shame, because we’re talking here about one of the most original, intense and productive –at least, in quality- bands of modern metal.

OK, explanations first: when I talk about “modern metal”, I mean music that acknowledges its roots, but, at the same time, use their ideas and talent to expand the horizons of the genre, instead of falling into a root of replication of older and, most of the time, better-formed and –executed formulas. There is a certain number of “modern metal” bands out there, and Unearthly Trance is part of this, let’s say, elite; pushing the boundaries, without sacrificing an ounce of aggression, creativity or credibility.

So, Unearthly Trance: a trio of psychos from Long Island, New Yawk (y’know, I have a soft spot for N.Y.C. bands –The Ramones, The Dictators, Carnivore, Nausea, Anthrax… They always seem to add a li’le bit of flava to each genre they decide to deal with, a big-bad-city vibe that seems to characterize them all), that plays a style which I describe as “blackened, don’t-give-a-flying-fuck doom metal”. The band’s (vocalist/guitarist/lyricist Rion Lipynsky, bassist Jay Newman and drummer Darren Verni) calling card seems to be “intensity”: their music is always ugly, angry as a rabid wolverine and as in-your-face as humanly possible. So, when I say “doom metal”, forget your Sabbaths and your Pentagrams and your St. Vituses: this shit is way too… eccentric to fall into the usual trappings of morose, melancholic doom.

Actually, “doom” is just a thin layer of the band’s arsenal. For example, the song that opens “Electrocution”, “Chaos Star”, starts almost majestically, with its galloping drums, not-exactly-power-metal riff and Lipynsky’s hoarse scream-howl. The beat is brisk, the pacing of the song is well-thought and powerfully executed (there are a couple of rhythmic twists and turns, to keep the blood flowing) and sets the stage for a record which is really cool and enjoyable. Also, every song has its own character and form, which shows that the boys put a little thought during the compositional phase, while the time-signature changes during the tracks are well-thought and have meaning within the context of each song, enhancing the menacing atmosphere of the record.

But, Unearthly Trance’s masterstroke was their hiring of Sanford Parker as a producer: the man’s a wizard when it comes to recording intense, thick music. Especially during the slower songs (as in “Diseased”), Parker’s magic is almost a palpable entity, as riff after viscous riff bludgeons the listener, sludgy, ugly and with the grace of a truncheon, while Lipynsky rants and raves like a man who finally lost it and is prone of doing something horrible (by the way, Lipynsky’s a Thelemist –you know, Thelema, “Do what thou wilt…”, mr. Crowley, the whole hog. His lyrics, though, are not the usual occult Satanist fodder, but well-written, fragmented little poems of hate, anger and cruelty).

The centerpiece of the record comes in the end, a twelve-plus-minute epic called “Distant Roads Overgrown”. The longest song of the band’s oeuvre so far, it’s also an experiment in menacing atmospherics, while never moving toward ambient territory, and it’s pulled off with power, gusto and intensity, never getting boring or redundant. Generally speaking, the bandmembers know their shit when it comes to their instruments; also as a unit they’re tighter ‘n a nun’s cherry and they obviously understand dynamics and arrangements, so “Electrocution” is not a monolithic buzz-bin, but has color (yeah, I know, different shades of black, now fuck off…), character and presence. Now, do yerselves a favor and go listen to those fuckers. Trust me, you won’t lose…

8 scary bastards out of 10.

Information
Released: 2008
Label: Relapse
Website: www.unearthlytrance.com
Band
Rion Lipynsky: voices, guitar, noise
Darren Verni: drums, noise
Jay Newman: bass, Noise

Tracklist
01. Chaos Star
02. God Is a Beast
03. The Dust Will Never Settle
04. Diseased
05. The Scum Is In Orbit
06. Religious Slaves
07. Burn You Insane
08. Distant Roads Overgrown

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