A lot of bands do about the same in the metalcore genre, mixing metalcore with
thrash and of course with a lot of breakdowns. On top of that a rather boring
vocalist that screams and that's it. Fortunately a band like Unearth develops
and still add some changes, although not big, but just enough to make the music
interesting. Vocalist Trevor Phipps uses his grunting voice instead of
screaming more than on earlier albums and that is interesting.
The first songs of the album are very brutal and fast, with tight rhytmns and
very tight riffing. There are a lot of tempo changes, but they sound very
natural and unforced. This is a band with a lot of experience and they know how
to vary without losing any grip on writing a good song. The melodic guitar
pieces are beautiful and the thrash based songs and melodic Swedish death metal
riffs are fused together very naturally. Both guitar players launch one nice solo
and harmony after the other and Nick Pierce's drumming tightens any open spot
with fabulous powerful hits. With the riffing in songs like "From the
Tombs of Five Below", "Lifetime in Ruins" and "Birth of a Legion" they can
easily compete with nowadays thrash metal bands and that makes this album also
interesting for the general thrash metal fan.
This sixth album is heavier and more brutal than the 2 predecessors and the mix
of thrash metal and metalcore with some Swedish death metal has been worked out
almost to
perfection.
