Love or hate Swedish Melodeath, you may still remember a time when it was all rather fresh and new. Even if it wasn’t to your particular taste, you could at least say that people were trying something different and you couldn’t argue with the results. Bands like Soilwork and In Flames were flourishing in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, yet even then it was clear to see that there was a very limited lifespan for this music, purely because it is so formulaic that all the possible variations upon the theme were very rapidly being explored and exploited. By the time Sonic Syndicate released their first album ‘Eden Fire’ in 2005, they were already scraping the last scraps of creativity out of the bowl of Melodeath. A couple of formulaic and largely identical albums later, it is alleged that their record label at the time sought a change in style. This was unacceptable for Richard & Roland Sjunnesson, who along with other disgruntled ex-Sonic Syndicate members, decided they would form their own band.
The Unguided therefore pick up where Sonic Syndicate left off after 2008’s ‘Love And Other Disasters’, and by that I mean it sounds pretty much identical. Roland Johansson’s clean vocals are solidly delivered albeit with little actual feeling, although it sounds heavenly when compared to the limply ranted shouts of Richard Sjunnesson (billed as ‘Harsh Vocals), whose unwelcome periodic utterances are very much from the petulant shouty teenager bracket. Absolutely everything he sings, regardless of content and context comes across as, “I’m a grown up now, and you can’t tell me what to do anymore Mum and Dad”. The guitars are a mixture of nice solo work and utterly generic riffing. The opening track ‘Inherit the Earth’ for example begins with THAT riff. The same one most melodic death or metalcore bands play. Drum fill, play unimaginative 8 note riff, drum fill, play same riff only upping the key on the last 4 notes, drum fill, same riff again, add nauseating twinkly keyboards, commence shouting something along the lines of how you are not going to take this anymore as drums build…aaaand reach for the skip button.
Whilst the majority of the album is painfully limp and predictable, there are a few positive points to take. Some of the lead guitar work is very good, with some nice solos and lead breaks dotted throughout. The clean vocals, whilst largely unremarkable, certainly aren’t in any way offensive, and they do compliment the music for the majority of the time, with the grating moments only generally arriving as his brother blunders forth with his next shout. The production is as shiny as you would expect; polished to the point that you can imagine little sparkles and bits of glitter every time the keyboard chimes in. Apart from that though…
Bearing in mind that the intention of the Sjunnesson brothers here was to continue making the music that they intended for Sonic Syndicate, I think you can safely say that they have achieved their aim and Sonic Syndicate fans will hungrily devour this album. It’s exactly the same really, perhaps a little more polished. To suggest that it is their best work to date is entirely possible, but to those who are not already Sonic Syndicate fans, it really is damning with faint praise. The press release that arrived with this album states that, “it’s hard to grasp what kind of releases and destinations the future have in store for a band with this initial striking power and potential”. I completely disagree. It’s very easy to envisage what the future holds, and it’s more of this. It’s what they did in the past, it’s what they do here and it’s what they will do in the future. They even started another band through their refusal to attempt to vary the sound; that should tell you something. What ‘Hell Frost’ actually is, is entry level kiddie metal. I can imagine a child in its high chair bouncing up and down on its bottom whilst banging its palms on the tray as they listen to a song about the perfectly broken dream. Maybe I’m just too old to appreciate this, but all I know for sure is that after listening to this over the last few weeks in preparing this review, Hell will freeze over before I give ‘Hell Frost’ another listen. Recommended only for Sonic Syndicate fans and for children under 16.
(4/10 Lee Kimber)
09/05/2012 at 3:31 pm
I think this review is unbiased the unguided are badass and i am an old school metalhead and i think unguided and syndicaye go hand in hand as one of the best artists of the the year. Richards harsh vocals are brutal how can you compare it too teenage screamo emo as u bluntly put it is beyond me aa richards vocals even in synficate add that litttle touch which works perfectly with rolands clean vocals yhey express true meaning in their music something that music lacks these days .. But this is my opinion
09/05/2012 at 10:08 pm
You are absolutely right. Added to all that, the band was able to mix melodic sounds with metal. That is rare, and they mastered it. Every song you can feel the rhythmic feel to, and that’s amazing.
This review sucked. It would have been different if they had a writer that wasnt so biased.
And the screams are for added passion in the music. They scream what anyone would scream in real life in the correct situations. The screams are perfectly balanced with the clean vocals and allows for the story telling and the passion to flow through the song.
09/05/2012 at 4:06 pm
thanks for sharing. I completely disagree with this review. oh.. and no, you don’t know what the future holds. And yes I listen to Soilwork, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity and that kind of metal too.
09/05/2012 at 10:04 pm
Well this review was bull crap. Clearly the writer wasn’t a fan of this type of music. If you are gonna write about a genre, you got to make sure the writer is unbiased and enjoys ALL genres. This review is bull crap. No longer coming to this site.
10/05/2012 at 1:18 pm
What impresses me the most about this reviewer, is how extremly good he is has his facts for this review. Don’t get me wrong I am a big fan of The Unguided but I didn’t knew that the Sjunnessons BROTHERS (Richard & ROGER) have BROTHER called Roland??!! =O
Just for the reviewer, his name is Roland JOHANSSON!
Thank you.
10/05/2012 at 2:13 pm
Hi everyone and thanks for dropping by. Apologies to Roland for the error there, that has now been rectified. Personel confusion issues aside, I stand by my original opinions of this album. In my defence, I did say that fans of Sonic Syndicate will really enjoy this one. Judging by the growing lynch mob, I would say I was correct. I do enjoy all genres and try to find the positive points wherever I can, so I can assure you that the low mark is not as a result of an out and out dislike of the genre, just of this album.