Thursday, February 5, 2026

Black Metal History Month - Unmother- "State Dependent Memory"





London's Unmother play a dark and unrelenting style of black metal that warms up into something catchier in its opening track, which the feral snarl they initially smack you with lets on to. The blast beats are offset by dissonance that paints a murky fog-coated landscape of dark alleys and the depression of urban life. The second song does not find s them stepping off the gas. The pattern of blast beats continues to force things ahead. 

The rasped croak of the vocal is not well articulated, making the lyrics a moot point. Some anguished punk cries break from this, and if you told me these guys were in a punk band before thi,s it would make sense to me. The darker, more melodic passages that this wanders in are sounds they need to expand upon. I like the more depressive howls the vocals descend into. Deeper into the song, a lower death metal growl emerges, which plays to their favor by adding more vocal colors. 

I appreciate the increased level of creepiness they slow into for "Modern Dystopia" and the purposeful build, which proves to be the most powerful moment so far, and helps sell me on these guys. The vocals shift to more of a Gollum-like muttering. Though when the chords crash down, and they take the precious, he is clearly upset and objects in kind. It builds into more of a seething storm of chaos, but this works as we have already been grounded in the song's purpose. Their cover of a Greek synthwavers  ΟΔΟΣ 55, is pretty typical black metal, and you would have never guessed it was a synthwave song to begin with.

The title track is moodier and finds the vocals in a lower croak before transitioning into the more commanding rasp that is typically the more dominant narrative for this album. This song is also driven by a more typical black metal buzz. Its drone is gradually layered with other sounds, making it a little more intersting than your average blast fest. The last track, "Magda," is more of a simmering outro; it feels like something Nachtmystium might have done. I enjoyed the dark vibes and sonic depth they offered here; it resonated as real with me, so I will give this album a 9.It drops Febuary 20th on Fiadh Productions.  



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