Unearth

Unearth have created a rather crushing hardcore release, and they've done it by exploring traditionally, but increasingly more and more frequently mined, exclusively extreme metal domains. Elements of thrash, death and the biting yet melodic Gothenburg sound pioneered by "metal" bands such as At The Gates, In Flames and continued by bands like Soilwork, are present. Harmonised leads contrast with breakdown parts, acoustic interludes, frantic whirlwind riffs and melodic passages, but is possessed of a hardcore urgency and emotion that in fleeting moments recalls juggernauts such as Turmoil, in spirit, if not necessarily in sound. "My Heart Bleeds No Longer" and "Strings of Conscience" are excellent representations of Unearth's overtly metallic sound and would seem to have little problem appealing to fans of Swedish metal, as well as the more adventurous hardcore fans. At times, a slight southern influence (think Eyehategod) can be found creeping into their riffs ("Vanishment"), and comparisons to Poison The Well, Shadow's Fall and other hardcore bands that have found salvation in "extreme" metal are not without merit. Still, while not doing too much to distance themselves from the "metal" bands that forged this sound, The Strings Of Conscience succeeds through sheer brutality.