Embedded Files
UNEARTHLY RITES "Tortural Symphony of the Flesh"
UNEARTHLY RITES "Tortural Symphony of the Flesh"
By Dr. Abner Mality
Rising from the stinking swamps of Finland comes UNEARTHLY RITES, a shambling and slobbering beast of a band specializing in the ugliest of death metal. This is rancid enough to grab the attention of any AUTOPSY or UNDERGANG fan. Yet there are some pretty unique aspects to this bunch.
Instead of praising decaying corpses or serial killers, the band seem to be Marxists and eco-activists of a very militant kind, at least according to their press. The record is considered "a critique of capitalist oppression", which aligns them more with grindcore and crustpunk than death metal. They are pronoun folks as well, drawing inspiration from "Queer BDSM lust and the words of William Blake". Takes all kinds of critters to make a world...
As far as the music goes, don't expect much in the way of technical exploration...this is raw sewage and sounds like it. Lots of doomy and semi-doomy crush mixed with the occasional blast and lots of sick guitar work. The album reaches its high point with "Igniis Fatuus", which has such a creepy, vile sound with some absolutely diseased guitar work. AUTOPSY fans will eat this kind of sludge with a spoon. They'll also go apeshit for "Metalli, Liha, Kone", which charges forth like a drunken bull with its seriously loopy swagger. The vocals of Sisli are incomprehensible to the max, ranging from guttural retching to higher pitched ripped throat shrieks. Their capitalist critiques are thus rendered rather impotent, except in terms of sheer disgust.
There are some weird diversions along the way, like the dreary twang of "A Stygian Winterscape" and the 35 second long "Not For The Weak", but ugly death metal prevails overall. If that's what you're after, dig in...
Report abuse