One of the nice surprises you can get while reviewing is getting a promo that you know nothing about, not expecting much of it, only to find out it is a great album! Such is the case here with Unanimated's latest, In the Light of Darkness.
Regain is not really one of my favorite labels. They do have some good albums, although in general they don't have what I'm looking for in Black Metal. Unanimated, on the other hand, proved to be a different breed of cat, much to my liking actually. Charmed by the powerful, crushing and moderate (in tempo that is) introductory instrumental, I was expecting a furious/blast beating song to follow. I was happily wrong! "Retribution in Blood" is walking in the same path as "Ascend With the Strength of Death". It does turn into a faster piece, still the powerful and beefed up rhythmic section is making it all worth while. The excellent sound production makes every instrument easy to listen, and man, is that drummer beating the skin! Very strong bass lines and juicy riffs are omnipresent on this disc; some of the parts are even crunchier with a certain Doom Metal flavor in extra. In the Light of Darkness is not all power and no melody, since harmonious arpeggios, and even some classical guitars, and joining forces to satisfy our need. Each and every single musician is doing a great job; the vocalist is pretty sick at times, while the band as an entity is really tight.
Lots of great compositions to point out like: "In the Endless Beyond", "Enemy of the Sun", "Strategia Luciferi" and the title track.
Track listing:
1 - Ascend With the Stench of Death
2 - Retribution in Blood
3 - The Endless Beyond
4 - Diabolic Voices
5 - In the Light of Darkness
6 - The Unconquered One
7 - Enemy of the Sun
8 - Serpents Curse
9 - Death to Life
10 - Strategia Luciferi
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