Unearth is ready to fight.
Created in 1998 in the United States, the band led by Buz McGrath (guitar) and Trevor Phipps (vocals) gradually made a name for themselves in the Metalcore scene. Now accompanied by Mike Justian (drums, Madball, ex-The Red Chord, ex-Trap Them), Chris O’Toole (bass, Turbid North, ex-Savage Messiah) as well as Peter Layman (guitar, Flood Peak) on stage, the band announces the release of The Wretched; The Ruinous, its eighth album, on Century Media Records.
The album opens with The Wretched; The Ruinous, an immediately catchy track which places aggressive jerky riffs accompanied by motivating screams. The track also knows how to reveal more soaring melodies on its chorus before going back to rage, then a very majestic final leads us to Cremation of the Living and its killer blast, strengthened by a fast rhythmic. The Thrash-inspired harmonics are perfectly integrated to these waves of aggressiveness before a final break letting Eradicator take over with an intro made for the stage. This extremely energetic track has a good chance to ensure the band circle pits and other walls of death without denying the more melodious elements creating a contrast with heaviness, just like on the melancholic Mother Betrayal, which places dissonant and airy sounds between two powerful riffs. The band continues with Invictus which offers much more technical and virulent leads, while keeping catchy breaks and moshparts, then Call of Existence will reveal softer and brighter sounds while also promising beautiful crowd movements. The piercing leads give relief to a rather simple but very effective rhythmic, and they will continue to develop their epic sounds on Dawn of the Militant, an energetic and motivating track which focuses on marked Hardcore roots completed by massive drums. The crushing final will be another opportunity to break your neck before enjoying a minute’s break with Aniara, a sweet melodic interlude which abruptly drops us on Into the Abyss. Jerky patterns filled with heady leads do their work again and immediately make us want to move, followed by a very contrasted final between hazy clean vocals and visceral screams, then by Broken Arrow, a slightly darker track. Vindictive Hardcore’s aggressive riffs and raw Old School influences hardcore are still present, then Theaters of War will close the album with a surge of heavy and jerky moshparts, completed by some more melodic harmonics.
It’s just impossible not to shake your head with Unearth. The Wretched; The Ruinous still continues in their Old School, jerky Metalcore roots with a contagious and obvious energy even after all those riffs.
90/100