Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Unearth - Darkness in the Light (2011)
Back in 2004, metalheads in high-school/college, ages ranging from 16 to 21, first started listen to an emerging yet cool band. That band is Unearth, and the album they were listening to from that band is The Oncoming Storm! 16 years later (2020), here I am, a 21-years-old dude listening to and reviewing their discography, having enjoyed them for about a year now. After their weak debut The Stings of Conscience, their second album The Oncoming Storm really made up for that with all its great strength containing super-powerful metalcore anthems you just gotta appreciate. Growing up, I've had major metal taste changes, but with metalcore bands like Trivium, Darkest Hour, and of course, Unearth, my interest is cemented into a great blend of melody and brutality, hence my 3 main Metal Academy clans. Anyway, In the Eyes of Fire continued the band's destined path of success, although the success wasn't as great as the preceding album, wearing out the originality with lighter salt. With that, Unearth was left out of the sight and mind of metalheads for a couple years. And just when those metalheads were about to fall into the deathcore scene, Unearth released their 2008 album The March, and it was a total rediscovery! The concept themes are more mature and metalheads could breathe in fresh air in many songs on the album. So talking about this album Darkness in the Light, it's as enjoyable as their previous efforts (except The Stings of Conscience). With better practice in composition and better compilation of tracks, this is another album worth an entire listen. Darkness in the Light is slightly more digestible than The March with tunes that have drifting riffs and melodies. This album shows more proof of their notability in the metalcore scene, keeping the unique elements metalcore fans know and love since The Oncoming Storm. What's even more unique about those elements in this album is how elaborate they deliver them here.
Say anything you want about US metalcore, but truthfully there are a few masters of New Wave of American Heavy Metal, not just Unearth and the aforementioned Darkest Hour, but also Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, and The Black Dahlia Murder. Unearth and Darkest Hour still produce better stuff and that's why I enjoy them, unlike those other bands that already lost their charm at that time. Those two bands I enjoy also really move far away from the awful emo/screamo scene that many other metalcore bands switch to nowadays. There still metalcore darkness in the emo light when Darkness in the Light came out in 2011, and metalheads who are tired of listen what they have from the 2000s were excited to finally find a new decent metalcore record. This album still has the band's power from 7 years before it came out. Unearth might not have reached superstar fame, but at they didn't change their style under the pressure of making money. So respect the New American Wave, emo b***hes!
Opening song "Watch It Burn" is a great extreme start to this metalcore journey, containing lots of melody, plus clean vocals rarely heard from this band until now. The punishing open-chord breakdown is the best breakdown in this album. "Ruination of the Lost" is another example of extreme melody, this time having impacted harmonies and impressive solos. The semi-title track "Shadows of the Light" packs a punch with trading guitar solos and more clean singing. "Eyes of Black" continues the heavy usage of melody and impressive solos, this time sounding more thrashy in the same level as Bay Area bands like Testament and Exodus. There are breakdowns but they sound like they've been tamed down a bit.
"Last Wish" is kind of a letdown because while there are clean vocals, they aren't as delivered as nicely as the other songs that have them, but that doesn't matter too much. "Arise the War Cry" really pumps you up for a war between melody and intensity. "Equinox" is a short atmospheric piano song with some heaviness in the middle.
"Coming of the Dark" sounds almost like a Killswitch Engage song because of the melodic metalcore sound and the C-minor key common in drop-C tuning. Actually I think they raised the tuning for this song to 7-string C tuning, which is rare and great because the guitars sound lower and at the same time have higher notes. Another personal favorite is "The Fallen", is NOT related to one of the Metal Academy clans. The melodic riffs are memorable than different, and the solo ends with a clean passage to break the chaos. "Overcome" once again has All That Remains-like clean vocals. The gravelly riffs in the finale "Disillusion" make this song sound like death 'n' roll era Entombed.
This album is definitely strong and never disappointing to any Unearth fans. This is probably their best album besides The Oncoming Storm! While The March was heavier, Darkness in the Light has the impressive familiar melodies the previous album didn't have a lot of. However, once again there isn't anything new Unearth has offered except the clean vocals being used much more often. Despite that, Darkness in the Light would remain a true memory in our recent metalcore lives!
Favorites: "Watch It Burn", "Shadows in the Light", "Arise the War Cry", "The Fallen", "Overcome"