What does futuristic thrash metal sound like? Well, if you ask the German prog-metal squad, UNPROCESSED, it has something to do with the fifty shades of djent. The thing is, for some peculiar reason, these proggers like to dub their signature sound futuristic thrash metal, although you would be hard-pressed to come up with any idiosyncratically thrash-metal-like elements in their sonic cocktail. On December 1st, 2023, they will be releasing their fifth studio album “…And Everything in Between” independently, and its title rather accurately describes what it sounds like. Futuristic? Oh, yes. Thrashy? Maybe not so much. If there is a hint of thrash metal lurking somewhere beneath the quantum prog riffs, the band sure does seize the opportunity to blow it to smithereens. Listening to the new album, the unsuspecting listener who maybe took such descriptions at face value is very likely to find himself overwhelmed by these sonic onslaughts like Alice in the Wonderland of progressive metal. Although the new effort abounds with djenty flourishes, this bunch is not merely about MESHUGGAH, but also about the progressive extravaganza of ANIMALS AS LEADERS and the pop-tinted metalcore of BRING ME THE HORIZON (before the band went all sideways with those mumble-rap-EDM influences, that is) – and everything in between. The album title could also refer to the lyrical themes of the songs that seek to rip open our collective shadows and expose what is contained; in short, the album comes jam-packed with brutal riffs of anger, sorrow, and fear as well as melancholy flourishes of nostalgia and love.
Released as a single, “Thrash” is perhaps the best calling card of the band’s unique sound; being a nice cross between “That’s The Spirit”-era BMTH and the high-octane fretboard gymnastics of ANIMALS AS LEADERS, the song blends ultra-progressive riffs with unashamedly poppy choruses to a resonant effect. Placed as the third track on the album, after the two brutal rhythm burgers, “Hell” and “Lore,” respectively, it represents the lighter side of the band’s signature craft.
Speaking of the opener, “Hell,” it is a diabolically groovy 5-minute punch-up that sure works wonders as an introduction to this new sonic journey. Traversing djenty terrain, with the occasional deathcore flourishes, the song certainly pulls no punches. The chorus, once again, is so brazenly pop that it will probably make some old-school puritans frown. These ruffians seem truly committed to breaking boundaries, so the vibe you get from the music is sincere rather than that of a bunch of college kids having silly campus adventures. That’s pretty much what I expected, of course, since I’ve been keeping an eye on this bunch since their 2019 banger of a track “Abandoned.”
For some reason, “Blackbone” triggers strong J-pop flashbacks for me, of TOKYO JIHEN, in particular; perhaps the vibe stems from the main riff in the first verse – heck, it could be straight from TOKYO JIHEN‘s songbook! Of course, the brutal riffing and harsh vocals dissolve this feeling pretty soon but when that riff returns, the J-pop vibe intensifies a good notch again – only to be bulldozed by the djenty punch in the face.
“Die on the Cross of the Martyr” features Tim Henson and Scott LePage of POLYPHIA. The choice of collaborators could not possibly have been more spot on; the Sufi mystics have a word for music, “ghiza-e-ruh,” which literally means food of the soul. This banger is a straight-up five-course dish at a fine-dining prog eatery! In a way, these ruffians perfectly pull off what BMTH has been trying to achieve for a good number of years now – the happy marriage of brutal whatever-core and unabashed pop hooks. What comes next tops this off by a mile, however…
“Glass” is THE track in this new selection; it recalls the atmospheric, heart-wrenching emotion of both BTMH‘s 2016 banger “Doomed” and SPIRITBOX‘s haunting 2021 song “Constance.” Half the magic stems from the pinched guitar ostinato that swings in compound triple meter upon the ocean of atmospheric textures. There’s also something rather TESSERACT-like in this type of conduct, so it’s only appropriate that UNPROCESSED will be performing alongside these proggy Britons in Helsinki next February!
Next, “Abysm” traverses a hauntingly similar sonic realm to SLEEP TOKEN‘s peculiar R&B-tinged metal craft. Maybe these two tracks, “Glass” and “Abysm,” should have been placed as the last two in order to bring the album to a close on a tad more mind-bending note. The thing is, while the last two tracks are pretty decent riffers, they lack the heart-churning emotion of these two bangers. The more I listen to this album, the more these two tracks stand out. Given that we’re all mirrors reflecting the dark chaos that lies within us, these two tracks, let alone this album as a whole, seem to beckon us, by turns whispering and screaming in our ears, “Meet me in the dark depths of yourself.” What a mammoth of a prog-metal effort!
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- Hell
- Lore
- Thrash
- Blackbone
- Die on the Cross of the Martyr
- Glass
- Abysm
- I Wish I Wasn’t
- Purgatory
Lineup
Leon Pfeifer – drums
Christoph Schultz – guitars
David John Levy – bass, synths
Manuel Gardner Fernandes – vocals, guitars
Label
Independent
