UNEXPECT - Fables of the Sleepless Empire

"Demon of the Opera: or, Surreal Rollercoaster: or, Mercy! My head is on the edge of overheating!"

This is an intense piece of avant-garde metal. I mean INTENSE. Unexpect's third full length record is an unrelenting beast, spawned by Ascendance Records. On its musical way it has devoured such genres as klezmer music, symphonic black metal, opera, electronic, jazz, classical chamber music and some other tasty styles that stood on its way. Oh my... It seems it's about to devour... YOU!

Such a dense and complicated record requires a crystal clean production. So, if you're looking for a fuzzy sounding and discordant avant-garde, you won't find it here. FotSE is a perfectly produced album with an impeccable sound. Every instrument (vocals, violin, guitars, 9-string bass... wait, what?!) has its space in the mix and thereby is easily distinguishable in the wave of sounds this crazy bunch bombards us with.

A book could be written about the music played by Unexpect. I must admit that on the first listen I was completely overwhelmed by its diversity and intensity. While the album may seem a bit inconsistent at first, its strange coherence becomes apparent with time. Unexpect are unbelievably talented songwriters and skilled musicians. Their mix of dark cabaret ambiance, modern electronic spices, chamber orchestrations, extreme metal impetuosity and progressive virtuosity, seems to be performed without effort. While sometimes I get an impression of thematic overload, the fact that it's a well-flowing album is undeniable. Most of all though, I think there's something that makes this intricate music surprisingly accessible. It's either beautiful vocal lines by the frontwoman Leilindel or Unexpect's great talent for thrilling passages. Well, both of them I guess.

Extraordinary. Intense, intriguing, technical and... brilliant. List of adjectives goes on and on. With this almost perfect creation, Unexpect has proven that virtuosity doesn't have to deprive the music of soul. That should be an important lesson for some leading prog metal bands. I can't help but admire these people, admire them for creating this exacting, surreal and emotion-provoking journey. I'm happy I've set out on it.

CRYPTOPSY - Once Was Not

Keeping the Cadaver Dogs Busy

Cryptopsy is undoubtedly one of those bands that try their fans fidelity every now and then. On ONCE WAS NOT they underwent another transformation, this time into more experimental, jazz-fusion influenced (and still very technical) grind/death metal band. I must admit it was a very welcome change, as I'm not a huge fan of either BLASPHEMY MADE FLESH/NONE SO VILE era, or even less WHISPER SUPREMACY/AND THEN YOU'LL BEG one, with terrible vocals by Mike DiSalvo.

The album is produced in a modern but a bit odd way and while I really like it, I think it's an acquired taste. The drums are very high in the mix - just behind vocals - with strong, punching bass drum and very organic snare drum and cymbals. Bass and guitars are kind of hidden so during blast beats they tend to be a bit drowned out... but still, I think a perfect balance between organic, brutal sound and selectivity has been achieved here. Cryptopsy presents here some of the most unrestrained songwriting ever heard in deathgrind. The record is pervaded with an atmosphere reminiscent of a surreal trip through cold, post-apocalyptic world where horror and comedy merge into one grotesque amalgam. With the use of jazz-fusion-inspired riffs and clever industrial undertones, the band managed to create nine well-flowing, brutal, wild and unpredictable compositions. The stuff Flo Mounier's doing with his drum-kit is just beyond belief. Brutal, well flowing and jazz influenced drumming combined with painfully technical and jazzy axe-craft from Alex Auburn make this album a compelling experience. However, combined with rasping and unintelligible yapping by Lord Worm, the music takes on a whole new dimension. It's weirdly organic and surprisingly technical. I'd even say it's scary and oh yes, it's absolutely fantastic!

That's a bold album by Cryptopsy and I think one of the most interesting death metal efforts out there. Despite being a little bit inconsistent, it still has an uncanny atmosphere and most of all, it boasts some of the most well-flowing brutal death metal. If you're looking for a different approach to death metal without sacrificing brutality, this album is for you.