ALBUM REVIEW: Héréditaire – Unverkalt
The cradle of Western civilisation, Greece has given so much to the world, so too for the world of metal. ROTTING CHRIST. KAWIR. SEPTICFLESH. VARATHON. We could go on, the point being that Greece’s pedigree for producing top tier bands is clear as day. Since 2017, Athens-by-way-of-Berlin-based quintet UNVERKALT have slowly building momentum in the underground. With two solid full-lengths behind them, and three years on since 2023’s A Lump of Death: A Chaos of Dead Lovers, comes Héréditaire. A staggering and highly emotive body of work that cements this band as a genuine force.
Across its 50 minute runtime, UNVERKALT unveil a vast musical tapestry, one that twists and turns between explosive bouts of heaviness and serene moments of spine-tinkling immersion. Largely, this is driven by the album’s much heavier direction, expanding upon the post-metal foundations of its predecessor to plunge to even darker depths. Album opener Die Auslöschung slowly unfolds like a serpent unravelling, echoing similarities to JULIE CHRISTMAS with its haunting atmospherics, before exploding into a monstrous passage of thunderous metal that sparks the album into life. This contrasting approach, epitomised between the duelling vocals of Dimitra Kalavrezou and guitarist Eli Mavrychev, this yin and yang component is the beating heart of Héréditaire and it’s executed incredibly well.
Oath Ov Prometheus is a towering behemoth of a track, with UNVERKALT‘s embrace of blackened elements front and centre. A barrage of blastbeats and Kalavrezou‘s piercing screams and bewitching cleans are instant hits and the clever use of refrain to encourage the atmosphere to engulf over you makes it an early album highlight. Ænæ Lithi is the polar opposite. Here, UNVERKALT are measured, calculated, and at their bewitching best. Sombre and intricate guitar play dances with gentle percussion while Kalavrezou enchants, before exploding into a monumental conclusion that hits with the weight of a sledgehammer.
Whether it’s A Lullaby for the Descent‘s mourning leads that pull at the heartstrings or Introjects‘ thundering delivery of sustained blastbeats and tremolo riffing, Héréditaire is jam-packed full of dynamism, all packaged together with fantastic production. Late album highlight I, the Deceit, which sees a killer guest appearance from Sakis Tolis of Greek black metal legends ROTTING CHRIST, twists and turns over its near six minute runtime, and it never breaks the immersion as it unfolds. It’s a highly difficult trait to achieve, consistently over the course of an album, but here, UNVERKALT deliver in spades.
With Héréditaire, UNVERKALT have delivered an intelligent, carefully-crafted record of post-metal brilliance. Exploring the deep, dark facets of out origins across a meticulously woven soundscape that is an utter joy to experience, there is rarely a dull moment. This is a record designed to be listened to in its collective whole, allowing for its vast and numerous layers to wash over you as effortless as a wave crashes upon the shore. Give it the time to sink its claws in and you’ll be rewarded with one of the year’s most immersive listening experiences.
Rating: 9/10
Héréditaire is out now via Season of Mist.
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