TRANSFIGURATION MCD Page 3.
BRITISH UNDERGROUND METAL BANDS (ENGLAND)
Emotion laden doom metal. Good production and a very clear guitar sound allows the riffage to be heard and enjoyed. Another thing that surprised me was the vocals, normally this type of music is let down by terrible moaning vocals but the singer can actually sing. The general sound of the album is in the MDB / solstice vein with use of atmospheric keyboards and violins. Greatly enjoyable. 7/10
Review by Brooke.
KLOCKRADIO - POWERHOUR (NETHERLANDS)
Unsilence-Transfiguration MCD (band release 2000) 21.03 "Transfiguration" is the first album of a young English band called Unsilence and they have put 3 lengthy songs on this disc. They play heavy metal with gothic influences (especially the vocals) which remind me of Paradise Lost in their "Gothic" and "Shades of God" days. The main difference is that Unsilence plays a bit faster than Paradise Lost did but the quality level is quit comparable, which can be see as a compliment for a starting band. "Gallery" is my favorite song but the other 2 songs are great as well. The album comes with a professional booklet. 8
METAL JUDGEMENT (U.S.A.)
This "demo" (or self financed CD, whatever you want to call it) was handed to me because, in all honesty, its artwork looks like a death metal band. Since I seem to have a certain liking for that style of music, they often come to me. So imagine my surprise when a speakerful of Doom hit my ears upon taking this disc for a spin. (I should've known it; you can actually read the logo.) It goes without saying that I had to shift my expectations around ultra-fast, or this disc wouldn't get a fair shake. So I'm going to do my best to maintain a Doom state of mind. And an altered state of mind, as well, for that matter. So these guys appear to be from England. What the hell do the English know about Doom? (Oh yeah, that whole Sabbath thing) Well, I gotta tell you, I dig these guys. Their bio shows that they've been around for awhile, and that really shows in their playing. For being a self-financed CD, I think it's quite a commendable production job, and their ability to incorporate synth sounds and strings is impressive. The songwriting is cool as well. They utilize a few riffs and, although the songs are lengthy, are able to keep them interesting with the use of additional sounds that work off of the guitar rather than compete with it. And aside from that, the songs are just plain catchy, in a doomy sort of way. Vocals are a little My Dying Bride-ish and, while there's nothing wrong with them, they can seem a little monotonous at times. But that's just nitpicking a little. Aside from that, the biggest liability of this CD is that it's only three songs, and once you really start getting into it, it's over. The basic question is if you want to spend this amount of money on 3 pretty cool Doom songs.
Contact: www.metaljudgement.com
TRIDENT NETZINE (GERMANY)
Unsilence have sure had their fair share of bad luck in the past with labels but, undiscouraged, they have now released a great MCD featuring 3 tracks of atmospheric doom death metal. I say doom death somewhat reluctantly as Unsilence aren't what I would call typical for this genre. Although "Transfiguration" has a distinctly heavy side to it, it also has all the emotion of bands like My Dying Bride, Primordial and Solstice which seethes under the surface of this perfect accompaniment to a bottle of red wine. I found it rather irritating that this is a mere three track release as I'm damn sure there are more sides to this band than they are able to show us here. I can only recommend that doom fans get hold of this gem (plus a bottle of cheap red wine!) and allow yourselves to be drawn into the realm of Unsilence
Review by Sharon Wennekers.
A FIRE ON THE SEA
The new album
from Unsilence, out now on Nine Records (Poland). Availible on CD and
download, click here to order.
UNDER
A TORN SKY
The debut album from
Unsilence, still available on CD, Vinyl and download. Click here
for more info.