Hell yeah!!! A new album from the Unguided is always a party and always something special, just as the great artwork for the album! Lust and Loathing sounds like the perfect title for this one! But it’s also time to think about sad stuff that happens and changes one’s life in the blink of an eye, just like they posted this very sad message on their Facebook wall (15/2/2016):
Last Friday we did a show in Norrköping Sweden at the festival Where's the Music?”. At the same night there was an upcoming band from UK performing before us. The band was called Viola Beach and it was their first gig outside of the UK. Later that night, the band and their manager died in a horrible and tragic car accident on their way to the airport in Stockholm. There are really no words for how horrible this is. Our Unguided hearts goes out to their families and loved ones. Rest in peace, Viola Beach.
The album starts with a bomb and a great mix between clean/melancholic and brutal/grunting vocals. The bluesy guitar solo and electric extra does add a bigger dimension to the great sound. I adore the synths and the mix between the energy and the studio work. It all feels like done in one long energetic shot and ready to be played on stage! Enraged is the right title of the opening track!
The Worst Day (Revisited) sounds pretty heavy and pretty raw with lots of twists and even a mechanized voice, it goes from melodic (inspired by HIMM), to brutal and aggressive with heavy screaming and grunting to melancholia and there is even an interlude with a piano and a techno inspired moment!
King of Clubs has hammering guitars, nice electronics and a tiny Rammstein moment followed by some Tool versus Skrillex. The duality and the twists is what made me get hooked on their sound from the start and I’m really happy that they choose that path and make a difference! I feel a perfect chart hitter in this one!
Heartseeker starts pretty soft (with a piano and very melodic), it could turn into a ballad, but the heavy grunting tears that thought down. Still: it’s a softer song and is more into melancholia than the rest. Once again the powerful twists changes this one into what I can call simply a great song that keeps you attracted from the first until the very last second! I feel this one will be a big hit on stage and can’t wait to see them perform it!
Phobos Grip starts as if launched by a rocket into space. Vocals and instruments seem to be on fire, driving us into a satellite called Phobos. The guitar solo is also worth mentioning! This is the heaviest track on the album and I totally love it!
Black Eyed Angel could be a ballad but doesn’t sound like, for once the title is not describing the track or maybe I should focus more on the darkness. The electronics are a bit more up fronted (together with the piano parts). Music wise it feels like as if I'm back into childhood fooling around with his favorite toys. It’s pure heaven!
Operation E.A.E. brings a mix between melancholic, clean vocals, the softer side with a more contained brutal side. It just sounds so perfect!
Boneyard starts pretty techno minded until the guitars and drums explode, but we get some more electronics and the perfect mix in the vocal side between real singing, grunting and screaming! It all sounds very catchy. I adore the guitar sound too, it has that something special needed to lift it to a higher level! Once again the structure of the song is pretty complex, just another proof of a genius at work!
I arrive already at the last track, sadly: Hate (and Other Triumphs) starts on a very emotional level, joined by electronics and later on pretty heavy grunting and great guitars. The sound is pretty melodic. It’s what I call one final shot before you feel the urge to kill the silence and simply use the repeat function! After so much greatness tears run and I get a bit emotional!
Wow, yet another blast from The Unguided! See you on stage!
