EP REVIEW: Annihilation – Unanimated

Cult Swedish death metal icons UNANIMATED are a band that prove that good things come to those who wait. Despite being close to thirty years old, the band have only released three full length records, two demos and their latest EP, Annihilation over that vast gulf of time.

However, UNANIMATED are a band that give credence to the saying “quality over quantity”, as each and every record they have put out is excellent in its own right, blending death and black metal together with sharp and memorable melodies. It’s clear that this latest EP, which comes a whole nine years after the release of In the Light of Darkness, follows in the tradition of its predecessors by being brilliant from start to finish There’s absolutely no signs of rust in their performance and sound, and they are still putting out incredibly good, solid extreme metal.

The record’s opener, Adversarial Fire, bursts out of the speakers in a blaze of tight, thunderous drumming and dark, bestial guitar parts, setting the tone for the rest of the record very well. The vocals are suitably acerbic and ferocious, and complement this track’s more jarring and aggressive moments with aplomb. It’s got impressive rhythms and razor sharp leads, all tied together with dense bass lines, bleak and nasty sounding vocals and cacophonous drum passages, all of which sets the bar fairly high right out of the gate.

From a Throne Below is a far more frenzied and chaotic affair, with all of the music being vicious and unrelentingly heavy throughout. This song is peppered with some expert melodic flourishes from start to finish, a musical tool that only serves to illustrate just how intense this track is. The rhythm guitars are suitably robust and add a thick, beefy edge to the already gargantuan sound, with the bass and drums providing much of the rabid energy that drives the track, with the exemplary vocals adding an acidic rasp to the proceedings, sitting atop the mix and commanding the listeners attention from beginning to end.

Of Fire and Obliteration, the album’s third track, is a far more measured and sonically relaxed offering, with some
brilliant acoustic guitar sections and eerie chanted vocals adding plenty of depth to this albums sound. It slowly
crescendos into a far more epic and grandiose piece of music, and it’s hard not to love this track. It’s essentially a brief interlude to break up the record, but it serves its purpose well and sets the listener up for the final, titular song. This last track is a utterly frenetic and visceral slab of death metal, tinged with vicious melodies and exceptionally tight and precise drumming. Along with the solid rhythmic accompaniments and an, as always, vitriolic and blood-curdling vocal delivery, ebbing and flowing between more speed driven sections and much more measured and dirge-like ones. This is an undeniably excellent track that brings this record to a close on one of its most potent and impressive points.

Annihilation is an excellent record, and shows that UNANIMATED can still produce brilliant death metal with plenty of impressive melodic and blackened flourishes incorporated into their sound. All of the music on here is incredibly solid, tight and has a few notably intricate and imaginative musical motifs, especially with regards to the album’s closing offering. This is a legendary band putting out yet more killer extreme metal. Hopefully, there won’t be a near decade long wait until we get to hear some more music from UNANIMATED.

Rating: 8/10

Annihilation is out now via Century Media Records.

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