Unearth
The Oncoming Storm

September 2004
Released: 2004, Metal Blade Records
Rating: 5.0/5
Reviewer: Waspman

So here it is. Anybody even remotely into metal has probably been hearing about Unearth and their upcoming Metal Blade Records debut CD (they’ve released a bunch of other discs on smaller labels) for the last few months thanks to the label’s excessive pimping campaign. That hasn’t really bothered me, because I’ve been looking forward to the next Unearth album since I reviewed their excellent ENDLESS e.p. So if the overexposure has turned you off listen up, because you just might miss out on something here.

Making no bones about it, Unearth plays metalcore. Go ahead, I’ll wait for that last word to clear out the hall a little bit. OK, still with me? Let me add this: Unearth are, in my opinion, the BEST metalcore band right now, better than Shadow’s Fall, better than Killswitch Engage, better than any band you can name. While Unearth’s influences and style are pretty much the same as those bands, they have a little extra something (intelligent songwriting, catchy riffs, awesome melodies, and just a little bit of humour) that puts them over the top of the rest. I’ve listened to this disc a ton of times since I bought it, and I’m still not tired of it like I got with say, THE ART OF BALANCE (that’s not a shot at SF though, ‘cause I can’t wait for THE WAR WITHIN to be released).

The fact is that those who hate metalcore are not going to be converted by this disc, but those who even remotely like this stuff are going to be blown away. There is simply not a metalcore disc out there to surpass this. So for once, believe the hype, it’s deserved.