Album
Type:
Album
Date
Released:
16th February 2015
Label:
Czar
Of Bullets
Towering
– Track Listing
1 Containing The
Tyrant
2 (Emerging)
3 I Belong
4 Southern Grave
5 Voice Within
6 (Rising)
7 Towering
8 Hydra
9 Dawn
10 (Ascending)
11 Death Dying
Bio
UNHOLD are
influenced by various kinds of heavy rock music – metal and
noiserock, hardcore. Not to be easily stuck in just one section,
UNHOLD is a multi-headed beast with both feet dug into the ground and
the head surrounded by blizzards. Set to merge beauty and beast into
one single hybrid creature - fierce, intimi- dating, beautiful and
compelling. UNHOLD early on forged the term «Alpine Distortion»,
which still to date embodies their own consolidation of sludgy
athmospheric metal.
In order to achieve
more depth and density UNHOLD had its ears and eyes open for
opportunities to comple- ment their sound and move forward, thus
incorporating new members to the band - Miriam Wolf on piano and
vocals and Leo Matkovic on bass. Leo was allready involved doing
visuals on the «Gold Cut» tour 2008/’09, Miriam brings artistic
vision and experience gathered in Bands such as Crippled Black
Phoenix and My Wolf.
Besides some tours
through Europe UNHOLD had the pleasure to open shows for bands like
Shrinebuilder, A Storm Of Light, Minsk, Coalesce, Crowbar, The Ocean,
From Ashes Rise, Sick Of It All, Biohazard, Strife, Endstand,
Transport League & Tribute To Nothing.
Members
Leo Matkovic - Bass
Miriam Wolf - Piano
& Vocals
Philipp Thöni -
Guitar & Vocals
Daniel Fischer -
Drums
Thomas Tschuor -
Guitar & Vocals
Review:
Imagine
my surprise when I received the promo for Unhold’s new album –
Towering – to review. Why was I surprised?
Unhold
split up in 2012 after being active for 20 years. They released 3
full-length albums within that time and the last one being released
in 2008. I was a major fan of Unhold back in the day. I was quite sad
they called it a day. Now in 2015 they had fully reformed, a new
album is being released, and here was my chance to review the album.
So has anything changed since their last album. You betcha. It is a
more spacey affair as Towering venture further into Space Rock
territory but more about that later.
Towering
is an album lasting 60 minutes or so. If you are a fan of Neurosis,
Kyuss and Kylesa then you are in for a treat as Unhold go straight
for the jugular. Opening track – Death Of A Tyrant – opens with
an ambient noise before the heavy pounding sludge metal riffs brings
back memories of Neurosis and Kylesa. Look beneath the surface as you
can see Unhold adding a distinctive piano in the background with the
vocal duties being shared between 2 members of the band. The track opens up the album with a mighty
roar and only shows a brief glimpse on what to expect.
Second
track – Emerging – is an ambient driven drone based track, which
is played in the darkness with a few noises being added for good
measure. It only lasts a minute or so before the heavy pounding riffs
come to play with excellent 3rd track – I Belong. The vocals have
an eerie Scott Kelly vibe with a slow and disturbing musical rhythm
slowly building up into something heavier and organic. The riffs
become slightly faster and more progressive as Unhold slowly start
channelling some bleak post-metal/noise rock energy onto the masses.
It is a startling and bleak affair that fully make you aware of how
powerful Unhold actually are.
Fourth
track – Southern Grave – is a more straightforward Noise
Rock/Sludge Metal song with hints of Prog Rock and Stoner Metal
appearing here and there. It has more of a stripped back approach
with the music being played at a slower pace. The vocals once again
are shared between different members. Unhold have 3 talented vocals
to choose from. Fans of Kylesa will definitely get a kick of this
track, as it will bring back a lot of memories. Unhold’s style of
Noise Rock/Prog Sludge is another winning factor that make this album
such a joy to listen to.
Fifth
Track – Voice Within – sees Miriam take centre stage on vocal
duties. And it is a stunning performance that is filled with pain,
sorrow and regret. The guitars take a more heartfelt and quiet
approach and this gives Miriam the chance to shine. Though you can
hear heavy pounding sludge riffs lurking in the background waiting to
explode which what happens for the last two mins or so. It is one of
the albums standout tracks for you to fully witness.
The
next part of the album is where Unhold venture into the realm of
Space Rock with 6th track – Rising – offering a 48-second
interlude with a thought provoking speech set against an ambient
backdrop. A brief quiet pause happens before 7th track – Towering –
carries on the Space Rock vibe with intriguing NASA soundbytes
venturing into space with a soothing post-rock melodic odyssey
providing a few uplifting moments along the way. It is quite brave
for Unhold to venture into this direction with their music as it
slows the mood right down and it does not suffer as a result. It is a
beautifully played Progressive Space Rock song that actually is quite
euphoric. Though wait until the 6:30 minute mark when Unhold start
adding heavier guitars to give this song a more uplifting feel.
Unhold
return to their heavier progressive sludge metal roots for the next
few songs starting with eighth track – Hydra – and it is one of
the albums standout tracks with the vocals and riffs perfectly
combining for a haunting tale packed full of noise and precision.
Maybe I have given too much away with the albums content, which I can
only apologise for. As stated at the start I was very excited to
review this album, as it is the first album they have released in
almost 7 years. It does not disappoint as Unhold keep some of the
best music for the last few songs that sees them venturing into many
different genres. The piano is really put to good use on later tracks
adding a sense of calm amongst the heavier instrumental work.
Unhold
have created something special with Towering as even this early in
2015, Towering is potential Album Of The Year Material. No question.
Thanks
to Czar of Crickets Productions for the promo. Towering will be
available to buy from Czar of Crickets Productions from February
15th 2015 on CD/Vinyl.
Words
by Steve Howe
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more information
