Unearth have always been one of the most metal bands in the world of metalcore.
They’ve also always been one with the most noticeable DIY punk ethic… the most hardcore, if you like. And, after a couple of duffers, they’ve harnessed that power of old to create their best album since 2006’s III: In The Eyes Of Fire. This is brilliantly gruff and brutal stuff. Opener The Swarm rides in on a sea of blasting and blurred fingered fretwork that is far closer to Lamb Of God than Blessthefall, and sets the tone for a record that rarely takes its foot off the accelerator pedal. Ken Susi and Buz McGrath prove again that they are two of metal’s most underrated guitarists and Trevor Phipps never once strays into the ‘clean’ vocal style that is so depressingly prevalent in metalcore’s class of 2014. And, frankly, there isn’t a single band in that class who could deliver a grinding stomper like Never Cease. It’s not new, it’s becoming less and less fashionable, but it’s what Unearth do. And they do it better than the rest.
Via Century Media
