Maximum Metal Rating Legend
5 Excellent - Masterpiece. A classic.
4.5-4 Great - Almost perfect records but there's probably a lacking.
3.5 Good - Most of the record is good, but there may be some filler.
3 Average - Some good songs, some bad ones at about a half/half ratio.
2.5-2 Fair - Worth a listen, but best obtained by collectors.
1.5-1 Bad - Major problems with music, lyrics, production, etc.
0 Terrible - Waste of your life and time.

Note: Reviews are graded from 0-5, anything higher or not showing is from our old style. Scores, however, do not reveal the important features. The written review that accompanies the ratings is the best source of information regarding the music on our site. Reviewing is opinionated, not a qualitative science, so scores are personal to the reviewer and could reflect anything from being technically brilliant to gloriously cheesy fun.

Demos and independent releases get some slack since the bands are often spent broke supporting themselves and trying to improve. Major releases usually have big financial backing, so they may be judged by a heavier hand. All scores can be eventually adjusted up or down by comparison of subsequent releases by the same band. We attempt to keep biases out of reviews and be advocates of the consumer without the undo influence of any band, label, management, promoter, etc.

The best way to determine how much you may like certain music is to listen to it yourself.
Band
Unanimated
Title
Ancient God of Evil
Type
LP/EP
Company
Regain
YOR
2008
Style
Black
1/6/2014 - Review by: Etiam

Unanimated
Ancient God of Evil

Company: Regain Records
Release: 2008
Genre: Heavy
Reviewer: Etiam

  • Master of none



  • Unanimated's 1993 debut, 'In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead', was an early watershed that melded Sweden's many emerging schools of extreme metal into a appealing, if rather rugged, melange. Carving a path from one touchstone to the next, whatever it lacked in polish it made up for with youthful enthusiasm and a reasonable helping of inspired riffs.

    Its 1995 successor, 'Ancient God of Evil', is a tighter and more neatly arranged effort that has recently been reissued by Regain Records. This version, alongside a couple bonus tracks, was remastered by original technician Peter in de Betou, who supplies more modern amplitude without overriding the vintage Unisound production. And yet, this record's technical superiority in both production and performance, it is ultimately less satisfying than the debut. Throughout its 40 minutes, 'Ancient God...' only manages to shine during its passages of melodic black metal, which marks a transition from the more splashy, angular, and lower-pitched riffing heard on much of the debut. The transition is not always executed effectively: occasional thrash hooks ('Dying Emotions Domain') are engaging, but the staid rock tropes ('Eye of the Greyhound', 'Dead Calm') and prosaic pentatonic leads ('Oceans of Time', 'Eye of the Greyhound' once again) dispel the atmosphere and end up sounding like Edge of Sanity cast-offs.

    As for the black metal side of the coin--here more distinctly articulated than on the debut--Unanimated has more worth showing. 'Die Alone', for one, is a melancholic, impassioned mini-epic of rattling drums, textbook tremolo arpeggiations, and Micke Jansson's memorable shriek of its titular refrain. Alas, this album had the misfortune to come out the same year as 'Storm of the Light's Bane', and the former's 'Life Demise' seems constantly on the edge of turning into 'Night's Blood'. Lacking the broader genre base of the debut, 'Ancient God...' must endure comparisons to even more focused masterpieces from its era, and under such conditions this jack of all trades seems a master of none.


    • 1 :REVIEW COUNT
      3 :AVE RATING

    ALL REVIEWS FOR: UNANIMATED
    TITLE
    DOR
    COMPANY
    REVIEWER DATE MADE RATING
    Ancient God of Evil
    2008
    Regain
    Etiam1/6/2014
    3
    In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead
    2008
    Regain
    Etiam12/1/2011
    3.5

    ALL INTERVIEWS FOR: UNANIMATED
    INTERVIEW INTERVIEWER DATE TAGLINE


    << back >>