unanimated in the light of darkness

Released: 11 May 2009 Label: Regain Records

This is the first release from the re-formed Unanimated who had disbanded back in 1996. They slot nicely into the Swedish Melodic Black / Death Metal category, and yes, there are some great similarities to Dissection but that, of course, is no bad thing.

Right from the start, there are numerous gripping and instantly memorable riffs; The Endless Beyond combines deep riffs with more harmonic sections intertwined over them to really create an eerie feel to the track.

There are some nice fast sections as well as a number of slower moments, which make things more interesting than just infernal blasting throughout. This is a very, very catchy album; with each listen, it becomes more and more enjoyable. Enemy of the Sun is especially good, the lead riff just takes you along with it, the track which follows, Serpent’s Curse, is much punchier and with a harder edge to it

Unanimated are by no means re-inventing the wheel with this release but that doesn’t detract from the fact this is a very well-conceived metal album which combines melodic grooves with ethereal tones perfectly. Hopefully this will be the beginning of things to come and we won’t have to wait another fourteen years for another release!


by Claudia Glazzard