About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

Parts of V are emotionally charged, but the album drags.



Pros

• Ryan Lipynsky's vocals.
• Songs often have a hypnotic effect.

Cons

• Repetitive and sometimes short on ideas.

Description

• Released September 28, 2010 on Relapse Records.
• Unearthly Trance formed in New York in 2000.
• The band has released splits with acts like Minsk and The Endless Blockade.

Guide Review - Unearthly Trance - 'V'

Unearthly Trance has always flown under the radar in extreme metal.


  Their recent albums  Electrocution and The Trident were well-received.  But far too few people know about the Brooklyn band unless they’ve seen one of their emotional shows. Unearthly Trance is  best experienced live; Ryan Lipynsky’s performance melds down-tempo metal riffs with a Black Flag-intensity.

Unearthly Trance is getting an extra push this fall with  the release of their new album V. The album highlights the power and pitfalls of minimalism.  Riffs are repeated and repeated again. Ideas are recycled, perhaps in the hopes of creating a trance-like effect. This works best on songs like “Solar Eye,” where Lipynsky’s snarl gives the songs depth and texture and the music hints at menace.

Unearthly Trance relied too much on the less-is-more approach on this album. They’ve never been an up-tempo band, so when solos appear they are a breath of fresh air. There’s precious little variety on V, and times when riffs continue plodding  until you hanker for even a subtle change.  Songs like “The Tesla Effect,” and “Submerged Metropolis,” don’t expand on what’s offered earlier.

  At just  under an hour, V is also much too long.

Lipynsky does manage to give the sometimes stagnant material added heft with his vocals. He is a gifted metal vocalist and each phrase is uttered with complete passion and conviction.  His work is one of the saving graces of this album. Unearthly Trance continues to be a band that deserves your attention. They’ve just fallen a bit short of the mark on V.



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