The Unravelling : Tear a Hole In the Collective"

Drawn into the "Revolt" single they offered up last year, I was more than curious as to how the project would fare on a full length. A few things have changed here as this project continues to progress. Which benefits them as no one wants to hear the same album made twice.vocals in the verses remind me a little more of Killing Joke. The beats on this song have more of an electronic pulse than what we have heard previously from the band, who had a more slight commercial hard rock edge at the fringe that an Tool influence might provide. The vocal layers are well thought and smartly placed. They find a much more industrial pound on "Lucky Me" . They vocals are once again well placed around the swirl of guitar swarming over the programmed patter of the drums. The title carries a throb that is a few shades darker as the vocals form a more militant chant around it. They display the range of dynamics they are capable of by dropping back into a cyber-ballad, with Cure like guitar painting the atmosphere in the foreground.This does build up as even the more subtle moments are trying to repress their anger. "the Fearless Seed" opens with an almost darkwave synth pulsing. The song gradually builds from their. The vocals provide a harmonized plea to change how we treat nature and the world around us through veiled metaphor. The line " human being doing face your ghost" reminds me of a quote from the book "Conversation with God". The social commentary continues and you begin to find yourself becoming more keyed in on the lyrics as the album takes you down its rabbit hole.

"Enough is Enough" has a similar brooding to the previous song, though drums feel more organic feel and the lyrics read like the headlines of Cnn.com, the line "beautiful actress/ famous in hell" caught me. While there is a dense chug to the guitar of "Master Drone" a single released earlier this year, more metallic moments are the exception to the rule, but provide a more intense dynamic to set the other songs against. The song does build into a slinky groove that has a hook to it. In the past some of their work might have come closer to prog rock, here it is clearly more rooted in electronics, but not at the sake of leaving the guitar behind. The effect guitar shimmering behind the beat might bring to mind some of Nine Inch Nails more introspective moments. "Revolt" makes a return here and the new songs sit well against it.


 The album closes out with "We Have No Problems" which starts off as one of the album's heavier songs and then ebbs backs into ambiance with clean delayed out guitar shimmering over the heavier riff which sets back in the background to provide more of a looming vibration, before they build it back up again. This is the first song where the singer takes on a throatier roar, while by metal standards it's far from a death metal growl and might be relatively tame to younger ears, it gets the job done here, much in the same way Killing Joke employs huskier vocals to build things up on their post-80s work.Get a taste of the album below as it is highly recommended to those who like industrial trappings to their progressive hard rock, in the same zip code at times as Stabbing Westward just without the goth like elegance or arena rock chords on the choruses. There is nothing else like this coming out these days so if you were into ' Dredg and A Perfect Circle's darker side or mid-period Nine Inch Nails, where industrial was just one of the genres of rock dipped into rather than pulling of chaotic machinations like Skinny Puppy, then this is well worth your time. 

Up From the Underground : The Unravelling's "Revolt"

Many genres in the metal family tree have seen a come back in the inevitable cycle  musical trends seemed destined to take, but industrial has yet to really see a come back the magnitude it deserves . While Youth Code might be the band  voted mostly likely to do this in truest form, this project from Canada that taking their best stab westward at it. They have come back after  having the lead singer  out of commission for a year due to heath problems. The Unraveling's  new single that is the first we have heard from this project since their 2010 release “ 13 Arcane Hymns”. This shows the project evolving from being just another Tool influenced hard rock band stuck in the 90s to something more promising.

Though their influences are not always worn on their sleeves they do shine through brightly at times. The first comparison that came to mind was this is what it might sound like if Devin Townsend decided to cover Nine Inch Nail's "Reptile". I think the results would not be too much unlike this. The guitar carries a similar chug to the one Reznor captured on that album. If you can be compared in any way to the "Downward Spiral "then you have made something that at the very least is on the upside of decent, since it is  one of the best sounding albums ever recorded. This makes the work of the duo’s instrumentalist impressive. This might not be prog since nothing wanders out of place, the song is only four and a half minutes, which is what the intro to a prog rock song would be. 

The vocal delivery falls closer to the God Lives Under Water side of industrial rock. When the singer backs off and employs a more subtle dynamic against the trickling single note melody the Nine Inch Nails comparisons might flourish. If you missed out on when this music peaked in the 90s these guys have a grasp of the more Head banger’s Ball style industrial, where the emphasis is the guitar rather than the electronic smoke and mirrors. The lyrics are one of this project’s strengths, they cloaked in metaphors while still being a harsh, but spot on criticism of big American materialism that spreads it's infection on a global level. 

Who would have thought the band would come across heavier without being as centered around guitar as their previous efforts? This might not rival Ministry’s tougher moments and Meshuggah certainly has nothing to fear,  its this tangible emotional rawness that makes up for the lack of blast beats and gurgled growls. I look forward to hearing what an entire album heading into this direction will bring from this project which has no shortage of talent and has begun to carve our their own identity for themselves with this release.  Check it out below.