I know, this album is somewhat of a sleeper. No one heard of it, it's not making lots of front pages. That's because the band is still unknown but, I'll be damned if they don't make a name of themselves after such a ground-breaking release. Unexpect is Montréal-based and truly, I think they're the first formation since Voivod who has enough potential to become one of the many leaders of the metal scenes. Here's what I have to say about their latest opus :
Three days ago, it arrived. It seemed harmless, plain, with nice cover art and the usual tracklist on the back. Really, just a regular metal cd, like any other, except for one little thing, on the front page of the booklet, one can read In A Flesh Aquarium; Unexpect This is what sets this cd apart from everything that has ever been.
After a first listening, I was speechless, even more; my brain was absolutely incapable of processing said cd. Thats because I had been placed in a state of constant orgasm for 60 minutes or so. Three listening later, I began to understand. What Unexpect did was something few would believe possible. Everybody knows the saying There is a fine line between genius and madness Well I can assure you, reader, that this band managed to combine the two, madness and genius, in one odd, bizarre, topsy-turvy, heavy, violent, unique, blissful, distorted suite of 10 unforgettable songs. The band begins with the now traditional dual guitars, whose players also sing. The first, Syriak, does so in a raspy black metal way and the other, Artagoth, in a deep death metal style. Add one extremely talented drummer, Landryx, whose technique reminds me of a medley between Mike Portnoy, Dave Lombardo and Anders Jivarp. Then, stir all that with a bassist named Chaoth whos obsession with multiplicity pushed him in getting a custom made 9-string (!) bass and a Keyboards/Sampler called Exod who actually combines every keyboard styles known to man. Kind of like a blur that goes from Jean Michelle Jarre to Infected Mushroom while grabbing some Fantômas and Vangelis on the way. Then, theres Le Bateleur, fiddler (need I say more?), and Leïlindel, whos voice sticks out of the music like the unexpected singing of an angel coming out of a chaotic hellfire.
I could hardly decipher the songs and describe them to you piece by piece. This album has to be taken as a whole. Now dont think thats because every song sound the same, quite the contrary in fact, but because this cd is a voyage, a sick and twisted freak show which you have to watch entirely in order to truly feel its pulse. This album is a statement from the band members. They are saying NO! We will never let our minds be chained by the regularity of society, we will not bow to routines nor habits. Our minds, in order to be truly creative, have to be free of all restrains, able to flow back and forth between the real world and the endless universe of imagination. We have to be limitless. This is what they did, they exploited ever inch of creativity in each of their seven minds and combined them. They are to be listed among bands like Carnival In Coal, Mr. Bungle, Ephel Duath, Fantômas, Dödheimsgard and Transcending Bizarre?
However, the only thing I can really relate this album to is the surrealist movement. Truly, a very mature and liberated work of art. With their combination of avant-garde, circus music, symphonic black, death, jazz, electronic and progressive to name a few, Unexpect sets a table for one unforgettable masterpiece. Without a doubt, In A Flesh Aquarium is one powerful contestant in the best album of the year run. I give it a well-deserved 10/10.
Three days ago, it arrived. It seemed harmless, plain, with nice cover art and the usual tracklist on the back. Really, just a regular metal cd, like any other, except for one little thing, on the front page of the booklet, one can read In A Flesh Aquarium; Unexpect This is what sets this cd apart from everything that has ever been.
After a first listening, I was speechless, even more; my brain was absolutely incapable of processing said cd. Thats because I had been placed in a state of constant orgasm for 60 minutes or so. Three listening later, I began to understand. What Unexpect did was something few would believe possible. Everybody knows the saying There is a fine line between genius and madness Well I can assure you, reader, that this band managed to combine the two, madness and genius, in one odd, bizarre, topsy-turvy, heavy, violent, unique, blissful, distorted suite of 10 unforgettable songs. The band begins with the now traditional dual guitars, whose players also sing. The first, Syriak, does so in a raspy black metal way and the other, Artagoth, in a deep death metal style. Add one extremely talented drummer, Landryx, whose technique reminds me of a medley between Mike Portnoy, Dave Lombardo and Anders Jivarp. Then, stir all that with a bassist named Chaoth whos obsession with multiplicity pushed him in getting a custom made 9-string (!) bass and a Keyboards/Sampler called Exod who actually combines every keyboard styles known to man. Kind of like a blur that goes from Jean Michelle Jarre to Infected Mushroom while grabbing some Fantômas and Vangelis on the way. Then, theres Le Bateleur, fiddler (need I say more?), and Leïlindel, whos voice sticks out of the music like the unexpected singing of an angel coming out of a chaotic hellfire.
I could hardly decipher the songs and describe them to you piece by piece. This album has to be taken as a whole. Now dont think thats because every song sound the same, quite the contrary in fact, but because this cd is a voyage, a sick and twisted freak show which you have to watch entirely in order to truly feel its pulse. This album is a statement from the band members. They are saying NO! We will never let our minds be chained by the regularity of society, we will not bow to routines nor habits. Our minds, in order to be truly creative, have to be free of all restrains, able to flow back and forth between the real world and the endless universe of imagination. We have to be limitless. This is what they did, they exploited ever inch of creativity in each of their seven minds and combined them. They are to be listed among bands like Carnival In Coal, Mr. Bungle, Ephel Duath, Fantômas, Dödheimsgard and Transcending Bizarre?
However, the only thing I can really relate this album to is the surrealist movement. Truly, a very mature and liberated work of art. With their combination of avant-garde, circus music, symphonic black, death, jazz, electronic and progressive to name a few, Unexpect sets a table for one unforgettable masterpiece. Without a doubt, In A Flesh Aquarium is one powerful contestant in the best album of the year run. I give it a well-deserved 10/10.
