Unmoored was the first big band of Christian Älvestam, who later became associated with Scar Symmetry. His other bands Torchbearer and Solution .45 are also pretty well known. He doesn't only handle several instruments, but also possesses a helluva growl and also can sing. 'Kingdoms of Greed' was the band's sophomore full-length album, featuring the same Dan Seagrave artwork as Pestilence's 1994 compilation 'Mind Reflections', which is weird (it's just mirrored).

Unmoored didn't stick long to death 'n' roll metal thing that they had going on their 1999 debut album 'Cimmerian'. They went to record their sophomore album at another studio. The first one was recorded at Stockholm's legendary Sunlight Studios, and it certainly sounded like a product done there to some extent. The studio they chose for 'Kingdoms of Greed' sessions was The Abyss, known as the home base for Hypocrisy. The producer was Tommy "Peter's brother" Tägtgren. And guess how this sounds like...

It does not sound like Pestilence. That idea came from same the Seagrave art. But there's no idea to argue whether this album carries quite a Hypocrisy vibe or not. Because it damn well does. I like to call this one as "Unmoored's Hypocrisy album". It's a no-brainer: The band swapped their death 'n' roll style to death metal not unlike Hypocrisy's, and The Abyss studio gave it similar sound of the era. The sound is cold, trebly and machine-like, yet very clear. Not my favourite style of production at all, but not as it would ruin this.

Music-wise, this second long player mixes brutality and melody. Opening with brutal blast of suitably titled 'Feral Blaze', it bites hard with infernal tremolo riffing and keyboards add ominous aura to it. It contains a middle part that is close to nu-metal, but Swedish death metal way. Just like on the debut album, here too the band extend their tentacles towards many styles. Similarities to another Swedish act, Edge Of Sanity, happened on the debut already, and here it is 'Tellurian Crown' where this chameleon-like behaviour comes out. Here, it is time for some death 'n' roll and Dan Swanö like epic clean vocal parts. The band tend to jump into new parts in an unexpected way, but it does not destroy the flow.

The album is savage and harrowing up to 'Final State Part II (Last Entry)', which is where it gets a bit melancholic. Beautiful melody-work and non-distorted guitar playing with clean vocals remind of Nightingale (another Dan Swanö band). Something that I was not waiting for was this folky acoustic guitar/violin intro of 'Thrown off the Scent'. It feels somewhat out of place, as the rest of the song is Hypocrisy/EOS hybrid, again. However, the violin return on 'Milestone's melodic chorus. And so does this folk style, as 'In the Dark Midst of Winter' happens (it does have some metal in it, too).

So, the album flows from brutal towards more melodic music. Still, there are more feral parts in couple of latter songs, too. The song material quality does vary, but never tumbles down, not even close. Still, the pair of over 7-minute tracks could have been shortened. And as it was deemed a surprise back in the day, having almost 30 minutes of silence on the last track after a song, is a bummer. And it does not help when you get a 4-minute hard techno song at the very end...

The guitars belt out some heavy-handed riffing as well as memorable melodies and solos almost in every song. The drums are vivid and breath nicely with musical transitions. The growled vocals are nasty, from lower tones to barking ones, as well as blackish shrieking and snarling. 'Torchbearer's lyrics are written in memory of the victims of "Heaven's Gate" UFO religion, but otherwise the lyricism is rather vague and unremarkable.

A varying album from Unmoored, again, but not erratic. This is partly melodic, partly feral, so this could work out for many fans of (Swedish) death metal. But hey, if you like Hypocrisy and Edge Of Sanity, you should not skip on Unmoored!

Rating: 8- (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
03/16/2024 16:26