Unearth - The Oncoming Storm (2004)Release ID: 4172
Now this is a kick-A album! Unearth started as one of those metalcore bands who didn't have the b*lls to make top tier music and lyrics when they released their dreaded debut The Stings of Conscience. However, they completely turned the tables with The Oncoming Storm. It's too good to be considered just good!
2004 has been widely considered one of the greatest years of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal, placing this album next to Killswitch Engage's The End of Heartache and Lamb of God's Ashes of the Wake, though 2005 was a great year too. The Oncoming Storm is mainly melodic metalcore with elements of melodeath, thrash, and groove metal. The album is infested with good melodic riffs, way better than modern metalcore riffs from most other bands, and Unearth plays them with pride!
The opening track "The Great Dividers" is a tough crusher with great riffs and decent breakdowns. The spoken-ish section in the last minute is awfully odd but it doesn't affect the album's perfect source. "Failure" once again has good riffs, solos, and breakdowns that all never fail, proving the band's melodeath-ish metalcore identity. That's right, there are solos here, unlike in their debut! "This Lying World" has another good solo, and the breakdowns stay solid and strong, unlike their debut album and other bands who overuse them repeatedly. "Black Hearts Now Reign" also has great melodies, plus riffs and breakdowns all over!
Seguing out of the previous track in an acoustic interlude, the next one "Zombie Autopilot" totally rules! The extreme action starts with an awesome melodic riff and dueling leads. The band really shines there, giving them the fame they deserve! As if the song title doesn't tribute to In Flames enough, the song soars with an amazing soaring duel solo that the band was missing out in their debut. However, if there are a couple very small flaws to point out, they would be the spoken section ("all days are lost") and the overused breakdowns breaking part of the melodic flow. Remove those small flaws and that's an awesome extreme metalcore song! "Bloodlust of the Human Condition" is a little excessive in the breakdowns, but still all right. "Lies to Purify" once again has some breakdowns, but with more quality than quantity.
"Endless" is a killer song with a bit of a Hatebreed vibe, re-recorded from the Endless EP. The lyrics are notable for being inspired and inspiring; the first verse lyrics inspired the name of symphonic deathcore band Winds of Plague, and the "ENDLESS FIGHT!!" breakdown was inspired by Endless Fight Records, the label that released their demo EP Above the Fall of Man. The soft interlude "Aries" is a bit out of place, but it's mainly piano and clean guitars with background screaming, which is a nice change of pace from the acoustic folk interludes from melodeath/metalcore bands. "Predetermined Sky" has more of those melodic crushing riffs. "False Idols" sounds too hardcore but a good ending to the standard edition. The 2005 reissue contains two bonus tracks that are both re-recorded songs, "One Step Away" (from The Stings of Conscience) which is better and cleaner than the original but the near-ending leads still annoy me (Why did they keep them?!), and "The Charm" (from the Endless EP) which has great heavy leads.
Overall, The Oncoming Storm is one of the best albums in the metalcore world, and a true pinnacle in the genre and the band. It would be a few years after its release when its heights gets surpassed. This is a must for every metalcore fan, plus some melodeath/thrash fans too. Unearth had achieved their goal to unearth a metalcore storm!
Favorites: The Great Dividers, Black Hearts Now Reign, Zombie Autopilot, Endless, Predetermined Sky
