French, the language of love, is a well-known saying. To those people, I would say go and listen to this smashing EP by Unholdun! The French language lends itself well to sounding rough and melancholic. The opposite of Love, I’d say 😀
What do we think of the new EP?
Released via Purity Through Fire, the French Black Metal act Unholdun released their four track self-titled EP debut on July 4th. The brains behind the band Alexis Chiambretto (guitar, bass, and vocals), together with drummer Nicolas Muller and sound engineer Xavier “Tryf” Burnier, managed to put together a solid EP making me crave for more!
Right off the bat, great mix! All instruments and vocals are distinguishable and have their place in the mix while still sounding raw and chaotic.
Since this EP features four songs (all named after medieval weapons), I am actually able to dive into each song for this review. Seeing as I am not a French speaker (shame on me?), I will focus on the music and sound/mix alone.
A deeper dive in to the tracks
- Framée
- A nice thundering entry that immediately sets the tone for the EP. The opening riff instantly got me hooked. Halfway through the track we enter a more melancholic state and I notice that I’m nodding my head the whole time without noticing it. This is probably an omen of what to come/
- Francisque
- Again, this song smacks you in the face with its blast beat powered opening. Moreover, the song gets a gloomy and sickening plot twist due to the break in the middle of the song (that’s a compliment). After the sickening doom intermezzo, the track starts rolling again and transitions into, thus far my favorite, hypnotic riff of the year. This riff could have been on repeat for a few hours as far as I’m concerned!
- Angon
- A simplistic and, again, hypnotic intro that leads to a pounding waltz track with interesting melodies. The riffs come out well with the rough vocals and fine mix. Also, this track is the slowest of the EP and therefore fits perfectly on this spot on the EP, preparing you for the final track.
- Flamberge
- The last track on the EP welcomes you with a wall of blast beats and screams, a nice way to get you out of your hypnosis (it sure as hell snapped me out of it haha). No worries though, seeing the tracks slows down a bit and massages your brain once again. Before you know it, you will be nodding your head again in trance along to the mesmerizing music while you are being guided to the end of the album via the soothing outro.
This song contains some clean chanting which unfortunately got buried in the mix and could have used more power in my opinion seeing the melody itself is solid!
Final verdict
Although it is not a groundbreaking EP, it definitely is a solid and mesmerizing (!) one. I am excited to hear more from Unholdun in the (hopefully near) future.
87/100
CD available here:
https://shop.purity-through-fire.com/en/unholdun-unholdun-digipak-mcd.html
Purity Through Fire
Website: http://www.purity-through-fire.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Purity-Through-Fire-171743799539940/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/puritythroughfire/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOpgOcrw4vv9P0_3kDZ4hRA
Track list:
1. Framée
2. Francisque
3. Angon
4. Flamberge