UNEARTH „III: In the Eyes of Fire”

Music: Metalcore/New Wave of American Heavy Metal
Website: www.unearth.tv
Country: U.S.A.
Duration: 43:52
Cool Songs: Every song rules!

“III:In the Eyes of Fire” is the first album of 2006 I’ve deemed worthy of a 10/10 rating. The reason for giving such high praise to this album is simple: every song rocks! These boys from Boston retained the aggressive, yet melodic and technical sound present on their Metal Blade debut “The Oncoming Storm.” Not only did they stay true to their sound, they improved upon it. The speed on “III” is more constant, bridges are smoother and their guitarists have pulled a few unsuspecting tricks from their sleeves.

One such trick the duo of Ken Susi and Buz McGrath employs is arpeggio picking. The two usually revert to this musical tactic during moments of transition, usually to accent the end of a break down riff or for a quick solo to begin a riff. The breakdown riff on “Giles” is highlighted with an arpeggio riff. The climbing note also brings in the chorus part quite well on “March of the Mutes.”

The guitar tricks found through out “III” are spectacular, but the superb song writing is what really makes this album a classic. UNEARTH gracefully bridges tempo and rhythm together, at the same time creating riffs that are sure to remain in the listener’s skull for days afterwards. “March of the Mutes” begins with a heart-felt melody, which soon switches into an ultra-catchy thrash rhythm. Perhaps the track’s finest moment shows the band experimenting with a different riffing style, one perfected by Swedes—AMON AMARTH. This low-end grind soon becomes granite-carved mosh groove. The 80s style speed lick on the beginning of “This Time was Mine” recalls yet another Swedish band, ARCH ENEMY.

Equally memorable are Trevors Phipps' chorus lines. Repeating hardcore vocals can become annoying, but Phipps' never seem to get tiring. One reason for this is that he doesn’t over do it. Some of his vocal lines are mantra-like, but there are enough verses to keep the mantras from over use. Also, some of the mantras he screams are built up, so you can feel the aggression bubbling over. “This Glorious Nightmare” is Phipps at his finest. The chorus, “lift me up, tear me down, will I last through this Glorious Nightmare” gets more and more aggressive with each line until Phipp’s pushes his vocals to the limit. This choral line would be great to hear live. The crowd is sure to go nuts.

UNEARTH’s rhythm changes would not flow as smoothly as they do without Mike Justian’s dexterous drumming. Grand breakdowns are kept in motion through Justian’s awesome fills and rolls. Justian seems to have no problem keeping at pace with the fast thrash rhythms. Check out the machine gun pounding at the beginning of “The Devil has Risen.” His ability to switch into a furious roll is just phenomenal. There is nothing one dimensional at all about this drummer.

With “III: In the Eyes of Fire” UNEARTH has created a classic album, not only for the Metalcore scene, but also for metal in general. The group has progressed in its ability from each album. Keeping this progression is a lofty task that few bands are able to achieve. If they can stay on the path they’ve been treading, keeping their musical identity without bowing to commercial pressures, yet injecting their music with new ideas, this group could become one of the biggest metal bands in the world.

note: 10/10

Tracklist

1. This Glorious Nightmare
2. Giles
3. March of the Mutes
4. Sanctity of Brothers
5. The Devil has Risen
6. This Time Was Mine
7. Unstoppable
8. So it Goes
9. Impostors Kingdom
10. Bled Dry
11. Big Bear and the Hour of Chaos

Line-up

Trevor Phipps – Vocals
Ken Susi – Guitars
Buz McGrath – Guitars
John Maggard – Bass
Mike Justian – Drums