By: Deek

Posted: Jul 5, 2006

First time I had ever heard of this band, and heard them, was at the Born Too Late Doom Metal Festival back in April of 2003. All I can remember at the moment about it was thinking when Unearthly Trance took the stage was "Oh my god, this is fucking amazing." Their unique mix of death, drone and extreme/sludge doom just hooked me. I promptly bought a copy of their "UNHADIT" EP/demo right after their set. I couldn't wait for their debut album, "Season Of Seance, Science Of Silence" that came out a few months later. Loved it. A year later, without me even knowing it, their sophomore effort "In The Red" appeared, and it was yet another album I fell in love with. In late 2005, when I found out that they had signed to Relapse Records, I was extremely excited, knowing that they would finally get the recognition they deserved. And with "The Trident", their third full length, they have served the expectations.

The first thing I noticed about the album was how 'accessible' it is. No, that definitely doesn't mean that every little boy and girl is going to go out and buy it. Quite the contrary. This style of doom metal is hard to digest, one of the harder ones be able to tolerate. It's up there with funeral doom in terms of accessibility. By accessible I meant in the song layout. The songs are shorter, no longer 6 songs taking up 40 minutes. This time nine songs take up the same amount of time. This is a departure from their last two, but the general progression toward this sound was noticed on "In The Red". "The Trident's" 45 minutes are more in-your-face than they have been, and it works. 'Permanent Ice' opens the album with a bang. And, SOLOS!!! Yes, solos in this style of doom. That's a real rarity, and a treat on this one. 'Decrepitude' keeps things up-tempo (for their standards), short and to the point. 'You Get What You Want' is a crazed speed-freak's doom dream, probably the band's fastest song to date. A definite highlight of the album. 'The Air Exits, The Sea Accepts Me' is amazing. 'Scarlet' is the closest sounding to their original trudging sound. At seven minutes, it feels like a kick back to then. Another great one. Then 'Wake Up And Smell The Corpses' is just a huge kick in the head after the slow pace of the prior track. 'Firebrand' slows things down once again, and is a great contrast to the album. Things speed up once again for 'Inself/Infinite' and the extreme, hit-by-a-bus closer 'Where The Unbelievable Is Ordinary'.

Overall, this album is the real deal. It's in your face, it's smart, it's exactly what Unearthly Trance is, and a bit more this time. Unearthly Trance has delivered once again without disappointment, proving that they are one of the best, if not the best, in the sludge/extreme doom scene of today. A must-hear.

Rating: 9,5/10

Unearthly Trance website

Unearthly Trance interview

Distributed in Denmark and kindly supplied by Target

Buy the album at

Buy merchandise at

Print