Unmoored
Indefinite Soul Extension
8.3
This album is an experiment in contrasts – one part Stockholm-sound death metal, another part of Dan Swano-esque tranquility. If this sounds like a formula for Edge of Sanity, that’s nearly exact. Fortunately, I think that’s a fantastic sound, and one that I haven’t heard in overwhelming quantities, except by the man himself. In their defense, Unmoored push the envelope a little further on the heavy side. Whereas the harder edge of EOS is rooted in chunkier riffs, Unmoored rely more on blast-driven mayhem to pound their point home. All members of this three-piece act excel at their instrument(s) of choice. Vocalist/rhythm/bass guitarist Christian Alvestam pays respect to Swano by cloning both his clean and growled deliveries, and it sounds fantastic. Tomas Johansson’s leads are shredding of the highest order, and even his slower melodies are worthy of the air guitar. Drummer Henrik Schonstrom holds his own with accurate footwork and some nice fills. All of this is given a respectable Abyss Studios sound, grating and loud, yet clear. Right from the get-go, Indefinite Soul-Extension’s opener “Unspeakable Grief” launches into a pair of nasty riffs, which then traverses into a Gothenburgy, clean-vocal chorus. Follow that up with light-speed shredding and bake at 350 for six minutes and you’ve got a remarkable song. “Phase of Revulsion” is my favorite song on here, mostly due to a godly chorus that alternates clean, growled, and screamed vox and then lays them on top of intense drumming and a fine lead. Nearly every song on here follows the same functional formula of mixing fine Swedish death with laid-back clean sections and stellar shreds. Occasionally some silly haunted house-like keys find their way into a song, but the only two exceptions to that formula are the brief blast of energy called “Morndraper” and the acoustic-driven ballad “Final State Part III”. Fortunately, in the ballad, where I’d expect to find cheese, instead I find a beautiful solo. I’ll admit it, I’m a pushover for first-rate leads, and Unmoored has more than enough to put a smile on my face. If you don’t object to the unabashed EOS worship, then you’ll agree that Indefinite Soul Extension is a fine slab o’ metal. All aspects are top-quality and I’ll definitely track down their older albums. Unmoored has delivered one of the best releases from Sweden this year, for sure.
