Unsacred are a very young Virginia-based trio (drummer Scott Bartley, bassist / vocalist Hunter McCarty, and guitar player Miguel Falcon), but despite their young age (they were formed in 2012) they did record and release three well-received EP’s in mean time (at least within the American market). It made them be able to perform live on stage with notorious acts like Ash Borer, Kylesa, Obliteration, Toxic Holocaust etc. Now the band returns with their first full length, False Light, which was recorded and mixed by Ricky Olson, and mastered by Brad Boatright at the famous Audiosiege studio (Nux Vomica, Vallenfyre, Toxic Holocaust, Downfall Of Gaia, Immortal Bird and many more).
This seven-tracker lasts for twenty two minutes and believe me if I say that this is a concrete fist in your ‘beautiful) face! Unsacred bring seven short yet highly intense Black metal assaults with a crusty and crunchy undertone, fast and merciless, yet organically performed. What strikes me is the sublime equilibrium of both tradition (very much Second Wave-oriented) and modernism (with the ‘Post’-prefix in mind). It’s truly remarkable how both extremes are so fluently and subtly woven together.
The material is generally fast to blasting fast, but there are so many changes in tempo, with quite some slower or mid-tempo oriented passages as well. But as a matter of fact, each track is a monument, despite being so short on length. Unsacred are one of these rare combos that know how to mix intensity and energy with crafted song-writing and quite an impressive level of melody. All individual details are top-notch, and this goes for more than the coherence only: the razor-wire screams, the fabulous drums, the haunting guitar leads, the pushing bass lines and the massive guitar riffing; it all fits! But as mentioned before, the song writing and performance are truly remarkable too, sort of defining the missing link in between Gorgoroth, Craft, Svartsyn, Carpathian Forest, Gehenna and Horna, if you want to, seen from a most necrotic point of view…