Review by Saxy S for Unearth - The Wretched; The Ruinous (2023)

Unearth are one of those bands that were very popular during the time I was just starting to get into metalcore during the late 2000s. They were always a band that I could enjoy their music, but never found myself returning to it in the same way as I did with Killswitch, All That Remains and, perhaps most importantly, August Burns Red.

The reason is because while Unearth and August Burns Red are quite similar structurally, ABR always had an advantage by just being slightly more progressive than your standard melodic metalcore band. Now I haven't actually listened to a mainline Unearth record since Watchers of Rule so I went in with muted expectations, but was surprised by what we ended up getting.

For starters, Unearth are not reinventing the wheel anymore than they already did back in the early/mid 2000s; very prominent guitar leads that form the harmonic progression for the chugging guitars and strong vocals from Trevor. Each track on this record has its own identity and the flow of the record is solid from top to bottom.

The mixing of the record is also quite solid. I did feel like the kick drum felt a little over-the-top on occasions, especially during breakdowns with prominent double-bass action, but when the guitars are soaring with those sweet melodic choruses, they tend to drop back and compliment the top two voices.

Unfortunately, like with August Burns Red earlier this year, Unearth are a band that are clearly stuck in that mid 2000s timbre of metalcore. As a result, The Wretched; The Ruinous does not reinvent the wheel in any meaningful way. Don't get me wrong; you will not confuse The Wretched; The Ruinous as a Killswitch Engage or Trivium album, so the band still has plenty of their identity still out there. But I was kind of hoping that this triumphant return of blazing guitar solos and chunky breakdowns might have received a modern facelift.

Best Songs: The Wretched; The Ruinous, Cremation of the Living, Invictus, Call of Existence, Broken Arrow