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Album Reviews : Colossvs – Unholy

By on January 29, 2015

colossvs-unholyOur country is known for its mad, heavy music scene: being home to some of the most extreme bands known to mankind;  bands that will melt your face and drill holes in your cranium with the sheer intensity of their music. Melbourne metallers Colossvs are no exception  to this with their latest offering, ‘Unholy’, which is undeniably an absolute beast of an album and shows quite a bit of variation as compared to their previous ‘Cleansed In Blood/Reborn In Sin’.

The album kicks off with the eerie intro “Cathedral”, a track that teases the listener with a tiny warning of what’s about to make their eardrums bleed right before the next track erupts as the band’s  true brutality is unleashed.  New vocalist Lochlan Watt’s venomous vocals are enough to send chills down your spine as he growls his way through “Christburner”, the first single released off the album. The song along with most of this album venture into black metal realms with an aggression and extremity that only black metal can boast. The track takes a sudden turn halfway maintaining the same mid-tempo pace but kicking things up with the heaviness.Tracks like “Crown of Thorns”, “Xeper” and “Per Lucem Profanis” are the epitome of evil: each one with a progressively darker sound with a significant death metal influence and a few thrashy bits thrown around for good measure.

Final track of the record ‘Unholy’ is split up into three parts, each one an entity of it’s own. “Benoy Eloheim” is a mid-tempo groove-laden track and begins with a very crusty Behemoth-like riff; as are the vocals. For someone who didn’t play a crucial role in the writing and composition process, Lochlan has merged with the band perfectly to redefine their sound while maintaining that key grimness Colossvs are known for. “Unholy II: Pesha” picks up from the previous track but ventures into thrashier realms with the guitars sounding absolutely mental. “Unholy III: Eschaton” proves to be one of the most brutal album closers I’ve ever heard; it’s that slow-tempo progressive heaviness that gives you time to process each riff.

Apart from the fact that this band have really put heart and soul into the making of ‘Unholy’ – which is an aural assault from start to finish – the production is as raw as raw can get when it comes to this kind of music. It is probably what makes it somewhat of an acquired taste. The band has kept things diverse in terms of sound and made it interesting for the listener while at some points making you want to start a circle pit in the middle of your living room. Relentless brutality defines ‘Unholy’!

Band: Colossvs
Album: Unholy
Genre: Black Metal/Hardcore
Year: 2014
Label: Monolith
Origin: Melbourne (VIC), Australia
http://colossvs.bandcamp.com/

About

Prarthana is a vegan, Indo-Aussie, heavy music addict, fluent in sarcasm and metal. Traveling is an obsession as she enjoys taking in the history of various countries and following her favorite bands. She's either eating, teaching grammar or learning an instrument, when not occupied with windmilling in the faces of other humans.