Unanimated play a highly competent form of death/black metal with the emphasis on death metal. A dynamic counterpoint to pure aggression, a melodic revelation by the haunting melodies, entranced in rapture to the Ancient God of Evil. This is the masterpiece lost between the legendary Gothenburg, Norwegian, and Stockholm scenes. The dynamics of "Dying Emotions Domain" leading into the furious "Die Alone" is inequivocal.Īncient God of Evil provides songwriting, riffing, atmosphere, and melodies in a way you would think impossible after hearing the classics of the early 90s from Northern Europe. Words can describe pieces, but the greatness of each piece assembled into songs into an album is unspeakable. It is difficult to explain, even in songwriting cliches - fast/mid/fast/slow parts, parts where the guitars provide ambiance backed by keyboards, an acoustic interlude, an instrumental. The amazing feat of the album is how the songwriting and sound manage to be so stylistically consistent while not growing stagnant. The singing guitars on "Mirielle" embody the emotions of the minor keys. The guitar melodies achieve perfection without the refinement and polishing of the Gothenburg sound of 1995. The production and overall tones of the album are exceptional - they equal the atmosphere of Pytten's Norwegian sound without the overwhelming ambient noise. Mystical melodies paint pictures of desparation, the vocals complement them perfectly. So rarely have I heard songs so immaculate, the entire album moves start to finish with a sense of coherence that eclipses their contemporaries. They show bits of influence from Stockholm death metal and Gothenburg melodic death metal as well as Norwegian black metal, but they carve an entirely different style.Īncient God of Evil thrives on outstanding songwriting that blends together so flawlessly that even separators like the acoustic intro to the second track don't disrupt the exceptional flow of the songwriting. Unanimated wholly eclipse the greatness of Dissection with this album. Perhaps the closest comparison is Dissection, a band who has been imitated in the many years since their initial run. Unanimated stylistically fit in somewhere between a lot of the more noted bands and scenes.
This eclipses many of my all-time favorites.
In 2011 I heard this album and wondered why I had never heard it before. I have been a die-hard fan of Swedish metal for over a decade, loving The Jester Race and Dismember's chainsaw tone as much as the dark atmosphere conjured by Dissection. Melodic death/black metal from Sweden, second full-length album released in 1995.
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