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Unearthly Trance and Facedowninshit…

Unearthly Trance - The Trident"The Trident" is the third full-length and Relapse debut for New York-based Unearthly Trance, after numerous limited edition EP's. This is actually my first solid exposure to the band aside from a compilation track, and they've been recommended to me by numerous people (over the last two years especially)—often those who noticed that I was a fan of Thralldom, one of guitarist/vocalist Ryan Lipynsky's other projects, whose track "Crown of the Unearthly Trance" actually gave this band its name. I can definitely see why people were suggesting I look into this outfit, as despite an ominous core of sludgy doom, this material really can't be pigeonholed. For example, a number of the riffs take that grimy tone into faster territory that builds into a gritty hardcore/punk vibe (at times tossing in some black metal-esque dissonance for added character); and there are also some plodding, droning sorts of musical landscapes that have a looser, almost ambient atmosphere on occasion. It's not like we're talking about 10-minute tracks that crawl along with pounding rhythm after pounding rhythm at all. In fact, the longest track is just over seven minutes, and the nine tunes only amass a tactful 45 minutes altogether—which, when coupled with the diverse range of tempos, makes for a much more lively and interesting listen than the majority of what falls under similar genre associations. Oh, and the crispness of the recording also allows for some intriguing bass work on occasion; while the cryptic lyrics provide a fittingly curious match for the breadth of moody snarls and clouded whispers that are going on vocally.

Unearthly Trance "Permanent Ice"
Unearthly Trance "Wake Up and Smell the Corpse"

So if you're a fan of creativity without a lack of the ever-present adjective brutality, pick this one up:

@ Relapse Records

Facedowninshit - Nothing Positive, Only NegativeAlso a Relapse debut is "Nothing Positive, Only Negative" (great album title, hot damn can I hang with that sentiment) from North Carolina's own Facedowninshit, which I believe is also their third full-length offering. I haven't kept up with these guys over the years, and in fact I don't think I've heard much of their work since their debut "Concrete World" LP about five years ago. Whatever the case, they're still hanging onto their brand of rugged, filthy, southern-tinged sludge. But don't let all the dirt-related descriptors fool you, because the recording's actually pretty damn good in terms of sounding clear and warm without losing a sense of rawness. While there are still some faster hardcore/punk influenced chord progressions throughout the album, I'd say the band has streamlined their sound a little more towards the dissonantly mangled attack of the feedback-soaked pangs of Eyehategod and fellow North Carolinians Buzzoven—but the general character of the riffs isn't generic, so thankfully their material doesn't sound like the hordes of copycats that have existed since "In the Name of Suffering" hit the streets in the early-90's. And when they nail it, they nail it: "Association of Known Undesirables" is by far one of the band's most vicious yet memorable tracks to date (though sadly I won't be posting it as it's not one of the two the label have pumped out for promotion, so... use your imagination).

Facedowninshit "NPON"
Facedowninshit "Countless"

I read somewhere that the band doesn't like the artwork on this thing, and it's apparently not what they submitted or something of that nature. I'm not sure what the deal is there, but I think it looks pretty good, so... weirdness of that whole circumstance aside, this is an all around success for Facedowninshit. Buy it if you're down:

@ Relapse Records

Comments

  1. Sorry Andrew I think both of these bands kind of miss the mark…

    While I think UT does some interesting stuff I don’t think it has a natural flow, seems to meander around too many styles to hold my interest.

    facedowninshit is just boring in my opinion…

    4.11.2006 | By chris

  2. One last random comment for the day… I saw the ad for the new Starkweather album coming out in May…  Do yourself a favor and get this album, a friend of mine got an unmixed copy of eight songs from the upcoming album from the band and it is truly amazing work…

    4.11.2006 | By chris

  3. UT to is just amazing they can create such an atmospheres in every song..
    anybody heard about the new SICK OF IT ALL album “death to tyrants”
    ...did you get it yet andrew?

    4.11.2006 | By deathby747

  4. I can’t get into unearthly trance… I’ve had the cd for a few weeks

    4.11.2006 | By wes

  5. ..and the new jesu EP is AWESOME

    4.11.2006 | By wes

  6. an unmixed 8-track version of “croatoan” (supposedly from 2004) can be found on most p2ps, i’ve just downloaded it myself. if the actual album sounds this good, it’s gonna rip shit up.

    4.11.2006 | By chris

  7. deathby747: In my opinion the new Sick of it All is their best since “Scratch the Surface”.  I don’t have a full copy yet but I will write it up within a month or so once I get my hands on it.  It’s not a throwback album or anything it just has that perfectly heavy recording quality like “Scratch…” did and the writing is very solid.

    Wes: Just bought it, and I agree.  Justin Broadrick can do no wrong.

    Chris: The final version of “Croatoan” will sound significantly better than the unmixed version.  The pre-mastered version alone is quite different from the unmixed tracks.  Sucks that shit is floating around so much as it might give people the wrong impression of the material.  “Wilding” is one of their greatest songs ever, I can’t wait to finally see/hear the finished CD in May.  The 2xLP looks gorgeous.

    4.11.2006 | By Andrew Aversionline

  8. Andrew: I am even more excited now about the Starkweather album since I thought the unmixed stuff was flat out incredible!

    4.11.2006 | By chris

  9. i think UT shines best live. i still haven’t listened to the new album yet, but i find myself prefering Thralldom over UT. i wasn’t really into UT all that much until the two times i saw them play in NY… live it’s so much heavier.

    4.14.2006 | By -cja

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