UNEARTH: "The Stings of Conscience"          unearth          

Officially released in the US in 2001 on Eulogy Recordings, re-released in Europe March 21st, 2005                           

My first question is, what the fuck is in the water in Massachusetts!? Or New England or the North Eastern part of the United States! Bands like Shadows Fall, Dillenger Escape Plan, God Forbid, and other bands coming out of that region just have been shaking the world of the metal underground. Unearth is from that very region that is just tearing everyone apart. I had no idea what to expect from this band. They were on last years Ozzfest line-up so my first thoughts were a little negative but if they were wise enough to have Judas Priest, Shadows Fall and Lacuna Coil on that tour, then I suppose Unearth has to be good.

Right off the bat I listen to Fuel The Fire a very hardcore driven song! It got right in my face with screaming vocals and chugging guitars and before you know it, the guitars got melodic. So melodic in fact it is as if they learned from their European counterparts in Sweden. Yet, when vocals are added, it definitely gives the song an American flare to it. At second glace, the band is sounding a lot like Shadows Fall only with more brutal guitars. My Heart Bleeds No Longer brings up fond memories of some of the old local hardcore music that came from the American west. Guitar harmonics that it seems that only the Americans have truly mastered. This song is very heavy! The only problem is how the vocals were portrayed, by listening to the vocals, Phipps is trying his hardest to sing with his heart, but I could hear the strain in his voice with all the multiple takes he had to sing in order to perfect this song.  This song could give Hatebreed a run for their money. Shattered By The Sun is a very original hardcore song. The guitars and the vocals in the beginning sound stereotypically hardcorish but in pre-chorus the guitars turn around and sound like something Sepultura came up with during their Arise album! Very fast playing guitars with just punishing drums. The songs tempo is what makes it unique; the song would have fast guitars yet the tempo wouldn’t be terribly fast until the last quarter of the song. I thought it was a great track. One Step Away starts out great, punishing drums with the guitars just adding to the fire but the problem is that, it got monotonous. The song lacks the typical structure that the usual song has, verse, chorus..ect. This song seems to be played with parts changing all the time. Which is great because it’s original and it keeps one on his or her toes. Great guitar work and the drums cold not have been executed better.

I have another question, where’s the bass? Guitar that is, it seems to be buried in the mix! ARRGGHH! I hate it when that happens! The guitars could not have sounded better and the drums…wow. The cymbals just shined, bravo on the assistant engineer on the overhead micing of them and the engineer that mixed them. I felt the vocals where a bit quiet in the mix but it leads me to wonder what they would sound like if they were louder in the mix. I felt the quality of the vocals was great, although I am not a fan of this style of singing. The major problem in this mix is the lack of bass. It could be because I am listening to this on my computer, but it is not uncommon to bury the bass on a metal CD, Pantera and Metallica have been known to do that from time to time. The quality was great, the mix was 75% there.

For hardcore, I think it’s a great CD. If you’re into bands like Dillenger Escape Plan, Hatebreed, Earth Crisis you’ll love Unearth. For the type of fan who likes a more varied vocal style, it’s so-so. Another good part of the CD, is that it features great musicianship

rating: 7/10

Matthew Haumschild

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