Release Date: May 31, 2011
There is no shortage of intensity and imagination in uneXpect’s newest album release, Fables of the Sleepless Empire. In many respects the phrase “avant-garde” gets thrown around when a band has that certain “I don’t know what.” What uneXpect brings to the table is a combination of a melodic symphony, metal guitar riffs and a scary vocal set befitting only of a Halloween party for ghouls older than 21.
As metal acts were pouring out to the masses in the mid-’90s, uneXpect came to the table with a shtick not yet thought of in the states. Hailing from Montreal and touting a seven-person line up, their grasp into the world of intellectual obscurity is without limits. The vocal grouping of syriaK, Artagoth and Leïlindel lend a vicious lyrical attack that can only be described as a medieval metal opera.
UneXpect is a self-made organism and makes no qualms about it. They self-released their first album, Utopia, and it’s no different for their latest installment. With their first record, uneXpect was able to get on the radar of a number countries around the world. Self-promotion, distribution and a heavy Internet presence can be accredited to their early success. They were then picked up by The End Records and released their second album, In a Flesh Aquarium.
Their efforts are continuously refined. As they spend more time on the road and in the studio, there is a definite improvement on a sound already developed as something intense and unique. On Fables uneXpect explores the deepest realms of metal fused with a circus-like atmosphere and come out of it with a face-melting ride.
“The Quantum Symphony” has everything from a gypsy-like fiddle to a monster mashing of killer vocals in the breakdown. The song is intense; it throws back and forth between syriaK’s, Artagoth’s and Leïlindel’s vocals and sets in a layer of old school robot vocalization that makes it transcend the visage of reality.
“Words” has an amazing opening hook that ties you right into the song right at the beginning. The dancing bass line belted out from a nine-string bass backed by mandolin and violin has a bohemian undertone to it. The metal lyrical possession of the song lends it to something similar to a near-six-minute exorcism. Fantastic is an understatement for this song, but fitting for the time being. With lyrics like “Just melt the armor/And taste the nectar divine,” it’s thought-provoking and abstract.
They maintain an air of bravado throughout the album and its no mistake that their live sets are intense. Picture Cirque de Soleil-like stage presence with a Rammstein feel in the music, twist it all together with a band of gypsy travelers and you have uneXpect in every respect.
They have a sound all their own and in order to keep the attention of the fast moving music world, one needs to be on the cutting edge.
As Fables is an intense journey musically, it can be hard to follow at times. There is no question of each contributor’s talents and imagination, but unless one is listening with a willing ear, it can feel disjointed at times. There is plenty of stop and go that would otherwise make this album a chore to listen to if it’s not what someone is expecting. All things considered, there is no reason to not have this album playing when one is feeling most creative or needing to express one’s self.
uneXpect – Fables of the Sleepless Empire Tracklist:
- “Unsolved Ideas of a Distorted Guest”
- “Words”
- “Orange Vigilantes”
- “Mechanical Phoenix”
- “The Quantum Symphony”
- “Unfed Pendulum”
- “In the Mind of the Last Whale”
- “Silence This Parasite”
- “A Fading Stance”
- “When the Joyful Dead Are Dancing”
- “Until Yet a Few More Deaths Do Us Part”
