Writing promo blurbs can’t be easy. I know from firsthand experience that it dictates having good communication with the artists involved and trusting them on what they describe their album as. Unsouling describe their personal style as broadly death metal, but they are eager to highlight influences from darkwave and gothic music. Frankly, they might be right about their influences, but in cases like these, the promo blurb also sets expectations. Just like in musical education, where teachers never play a piece of music without telling us what to listen for, the promo blurb lets us know that this is not merely an atmospheric death doom album but something special, something more unique. Without taking quality into account, I have heard quite a few bands attempt similar sounds. Is it that these bands were not as open about their influences or is it that through the melancholy of Peacevillian death doom acts, these elements have always been part of the sound to a degree?
Either way, Unsouling are rock solid from a writing perspective. The band manages to remain heavy while also drenching their sound in the aforementioned goth tinged melancholy. This is achieved by a commitment to also feature heavier and more abrasive sections that contrast and therefore enhance the more melodic and emotional side of the music – quite logical, since the band also consider classic Swedeath act Grave to be a pillar of their sound. Most of the album is similarly sound on a structural level, hitting hard when it needs to and conversely giving the more atmospheric and special sections the room to breathe that they need. Often, these sections will feature additional electronic instrumentation and modulated guitar effects. In this regard, I can appreciate how the production holds it all together, without either becoming too clinical or too muddy, and without losing any of the heft a style like this needs. Unsouling are a relatively unique band in sound, as goth influences seem to be something that is in the air for extreme metal. Bands like Schammasch, Ruins of Beverast or even Suffering Hour have attempted similar and been successful with it. Unsouling are almost there. If the final track were a bit shorter, and some of the guitar parts were perhaps a bit more involved (potentially a “me problem”), or even if the writing were just a little bit tighter, Unsouling could easily ascend to the upper echelon of this recent micro trend.
