Whatever you’re expecting this to sound like, you’re absolutely right. It sounds like an Unearth album. Hell, if you took this album without any name on to a show and asked people to guess the band, based on the artwork alone they’d probably guess it was Unearth or a band of their ilk. No frills, no deviations from the formula and no quarter given to being heavy as hell, the band are on some of their best form since the mid noughties on this new record.
Titled The Wretched; The Ruinous, it’s the first new music in just over half a decade from the metalcore stalwarts, whose 2018 release Extinction(s) was a little bit hit and miss, yet still a very enjoyable collection of tracks. It showed that despite being a little long in the tooth, they can still go as hard, if not harder than their contemporaries.
No ambient intro tracks here, as the album launches into the massive title track amidst a flurry of drums and some of vocalist Trevor Phipps’ instantly recognizable barks. The riffs soon follow and veteran guitarist Buz Mcgrath is throwing out some guitar work up their with his absolute best. There’s solos scattered across these tracks that wouldn’t feel out of place on a Lamb of God record and it all feels tighter than a tube carriage at rush hour.
Subsequent tracks ‘Cremation Of The Living’ and ‘Eradicator’ throw frenzied blast beats, gang vocals and seismic breakdowns into the mix, as well as bringing some of that gallop the band are known for. The songs batter you all over and you’ll be banging your head and throwing the horns all over your living room. For a band with such an important, serious vocal message and a propensity for creating utterly devastating tracks, they’re incredibly fun. ‘Invictus’, for example, has a part where “Witness The Apocalypse” is screamed and repeated and as ridiculous as it sounds, it makes you feel like you’re on a cliff edge belting it out into the abyss.
“The band are on some of their best form since the mid noughties on this new record.”
Not every record has to be chock full of unexpected twists and turns. There doesn’t need to be a talking point on every track. Sometimes, a solid foundation and a strong core of ideals, styles and execution can make for a massively enjoyable record. As the band themselves have said leading up to this release, they formed the band to make music for only themselves, and no-one else. It’s kept them going for over two decades at this point; with an album as consistently strong as The Wretched; the Ruinous, it wouldn’t be surprising if they kept going for two decades more.
Take the bands lyrical style and substance as an example. Since their debut album in 2001 Trevor Phipps has used his platform to educate and inform listeners about the dangers that have been facing our planet. With the world in an even more perilous state, Trevor’s direct approach feels turned up a few notches and his passion oozes through every syllable. His vocals may be a little bit marmite, but they’re perfect for getting the message across. ‘Dawn Of The Militant’ is one of the best examples of this, being a call to arms to wake people up to the impending nuclear weapon threat that looms over us all. The “I am become Death” breakdown is one of those that you hear and after your jaw has returned to its normal position, you laugh out of sheer amazement that a band this far into their career can sound as heavy as this.
Is this record a little one note at times? Admittedly, it is. For some, there may be only so much Unearth you can handle in one sitting and the lack of experimentation may put some off. Even the acoustic interlude ‘Aniara’ isn’t enough to be a suitable palette cleanser as ‘Into The Abyss’ takes the record to it’s highest point, sounding unnaturally huge. It’s probably the closest the band have came to releasing a stadium sized banger, and it’s accompanying video is equally as brilliant. As ‘Theatres Of War’, the albums closer wraps up, you might need to catch your breath a little as it ends with one hell of a bang. There’s a good chance you’ll end up pressing play again though, if you’re not reduced to a horn throwing pile of brain goo by the end.
A few of the tracks have a tenancy to bleed together and it’s an intense aural and lyrical assault of a record, which could get tiring. However, if you’re wanting a blast of high quality, heart on the sleeve, heavier than an anvil metalcore, there’ll be few albums this year that can come close to this one in terms of sheer pleasure and satisfaction.
“There's solo's scattered across these tracks that wouldn't feel out of place on a Lamb of God record”