Unearth - III: In The Eyes of Fire
Unearth displays incredible musicianship and I am quite sure that fans of metalcore will not be disappointed by their intensity and earnest lyrical themes
I have recently become a fan of Wikipedia, which has information regarding any damn subject you want to know about. And remember kiddies, knowledge is power. They define metalcore music as “A musical genre consisting of a mix between heavy metal and hardcore punk.” This hybrid of metal and punk was born in the 1980’s and proliferated by musical luminaries such as Nuclear Assault, Maximum Penalty, Biohazard and Raw Deal. According to Wikipedia, metalcore musicians trade traditional verse-chorus songwriting in favor of breakdowns “slowing a song down, giving the guitars room to play a set of rhythmically oriented riffs, usually on open strings to achieve the lowest sound for which the guitars are tuned.”
III: In the Eyes of Fire begins with “This Glorious Nightmare” that assaults the musical senses like a shock and awe air strike. The well-crafted lyrics are cryptically poetic in the vein of Edgar Allen Poe. Yet there is no discernable melody to accompany them and they are spewed out like diatribes from a schizophrenic who forgot to take his Thorazine. The musical parts of the song are played at high speed with machine gun drumming, thundering bass and super crunchy guitar all more than adeptly executed. “Giles” continues on in the same style with more Gothic lyrics and frenetic musical changes highlighted by superlative percussion parts contributed by Mike Justian.
Upon hearing the likes of “March of the Mutes” a thinly disguised political commentary and “Sanctity of Brothers,” a song possibly about youth gangs, I found myself being helplessly swept up into Unearth’s wall of sound as easily as dairy cow in a Kansas tornado. Though not my cup of Joe, there is no denying the band is tighter than a Swiss timepiece and they offer complex musical arrangements as epic as a David Lean film. From a musical perspective, “Unstoppable” is probably the most melodic track on the release. By point of comparison it sounds like Queensryche on amphetamines and with better chops. Unfortunately, lead singer Trevor Phipps never deviates from growling out his vocals in a traditional, jacked up punk style that wears thin after a few songs.
On their new disc, Unearth displays incredible musicianship and I am quite sure that fans of metalcore will not be disappointed by their intensity and earnest lyrical themes. Though I am no expert on the genre, I cannot help but think how much more compelling their songs might be if they concentrated on developing more melody and less snarling in the lead vocal department. However, when it comes to playing intense metal at breakneck speed and precision, I doubt there are many rock musicians that could do it better.
(Metal Blade)