Album Review :~ Zhrine - Unortheta

Icelandic purveyors of chaos and wrath,bringer of darkness Zhrine unleashed their debut full length album entitled “Unortheda” in the beginning of this month via Season of Mist record label. Zhrine have ended the trilogy with a bang. Mixing black metal with avant garde together, with even a bit of progressive and death metal, was always their forte. New album is filled with more unearthly, astounding,critical acclaimed,heavy, claustrophobic misery ,enigmatic melodies to show just how pathetic the human black metal scene is when compared to superior beings from the distant stars. This new album is consist with 7 tracks.Basically Zhrine was formed in 2007 and active till 2014 as “Gone Postal” Later they’ve changed their name as Shrine and active from 2015 as Zhrine. They have been slinging noxious, elevated Icelandic extreme metal since before anyone was really looking to the wintery island nation .Certain Icelandic bands were able to gain proper attention and Zhrine appeared becoming a well established group of bands who can make a fully sound and creative and with a lot of poetry in his lyrics,with well crafted,distinct content . Already Sororicide,Svartidaudi,Misthyrming is successful and well renowned Icelandic band easily “Zhrine” became one of my favorite Icelandic band with their mystique and epic musical style . now I’m straight diving to the point about this new album .

This new albums whole compositions are extremely filthy and unsettling piece of sinister euphoria and unearthly ambiance .when at first I’ve checked out their first released track “Spewing Gloom” from this album I was just overwhelmed and to be honest this album was one of my long awaited,anticipated album of this year  because I haven’t listened this type of harshest slabs of black/death metal for a long time. This bands each and every members are excellent musician appreciate their unsurpassed quality,ability and skill. All of their tremendous effort portrayed in this album in radiant way with excellent diligence and nailed it. After a multiple listen their latest studio effort  infused me with  their Unrelenting, powerful,blasting ,overarching,chromatic, chaotic , multi-layered ,ultra-dense,monolithic death metal musical style laced with blackened,gloomy atmospheric vibe just  blew me away . Their musical style have a hypnotic effect and especially  melancholic style which adds to the more atmospheric kind of black/death metal but at the same time the vocals and other parts of the riffing is straight forward furious simultaneously . 

This whole album reflects the grand diversity of sound brought together on this album . It is really not easy to describe their complex musical style . Black Metal with unconventional influences enjoys indeed tend quite popular .A natural synthesis of dissonant sounds and disparate styles all combined in one bold, enlightened display of unbound creativity. Despite the often fast ,furious,cacophonous ,heavy and barbarous form of black metal assaults  laced with dark eerie,gloomy  and occult  atmosphere with a lots of segments of slower,mid-paced tempo too where Zhrine combines cavernous drum thrashes, melancholic guitars ,previously mentioned all  aspects  enriched this album that is very powerful,strong and excellent all at the same time along with a good  balance  of black/death metal music, melody and brutality with strangulated ,filthy,thick,doomy riffs work and those effective rasps simultaneously borrow blackened,gloomy,sinister vibe. I highly appreciate and embrace this album because of their distinct style .

well, this albums opening track “Utopian Warfare” starts with sonic assailment,obtuse,grotesque,atmospheric sound followed by an onslaught of tremulous ,dark eerie, savage riffs  and a wall of blast beating ,spectacular drums laced with aggression,deliberate cadence . Their whole composition and musical style is impeccable also borrow great atmosphere. They have injected doom,black metal vibes into furious death metal style.Their musical representation evolves into souls wandering vicious, crushing and ominous wasteland . This whole album gives u pitch-black feel from beginning to the end and I warn you this is a gloomy journey.

 This album is filled with a slew of cadence, apocalyptic, squalid, ominous,hellish,doom laden,filthy, crawling, slow but powerful riffs work . As well bass line up is whopping,intense,Chaotic ,rumbling .  Drumming,percussion line up is bleak, frantic,solid,clattering and powerful .  In each track breathtaking,morbidly delicious, scalding,macabre,soaring riffs,bass lineups matched in well manner with hellish,devilish chords and horror,mournful sounds are rightly used as an additional uncanny harmonic layer. The most striking thing you’ll notice about the sound of Zhrine is the air of melancholy that quite literally drips from the noise they create . This whole albums sound  deliver a dissonant,grim feeling,sinister,melancholic,gruesome black/death metal with raw emotion and pure energy . “Unortheda”  endures beauty of black/death metal . This album indulge strong songwriting and brilliant musicianship . This album have a hypnotic effect on the listener . Vocals large, inhuman voice that does well for Zhrine . Vocals howling scream, hoarse ,snarling, sneering , deep rasps , deep lung-burning roars, immense voice emerged on this album in a well manner and intertwined perfectly with their utterly  spellbinding,obtuse,bizarrely arrogant, mysterious,fully blistering, grandiose  death metal,distant musical style with a lots of melodic,atmospheric,doomy  accompaniment  and  embedded perfectly . Overall you will get  sinister,gloomy,desolate,mysterious ambient from this whole album . I really worship this band .

Each song have an energy ,fluency and  draw a savage landscape .Stand out tracks are all of them . I personally Cherish Utopian Warfare,Spewing Gloom,The Earth Inhaled,The Syringe Dance track those are remarkable,appreciable too.  Album artwork is atrocious,grisly, indelible . Overall “Unortheda” whole album is Spectacular,engrossing ,significant,rich . This album sounds so authentic  and a truly remarkable sonic journey from beginning to end . Indeed this album is such an true gem of this year . I’ll say this whole album is aesthetics of death metal .Outstanding another one release of this year so far .This is highly recommend to add it in your collection .If you are looking for  something different, epic this pure unadulterated black/death metal album is perfect and it will take you on a journey into another universe . so, enter the void and I am sure definitely u will come out stronger,darker,gloomier than ever before.

Review done by – Souvik Basu

My Rating – 4.5/5

Published on 20.04.2016