Band: Unkind
Title: Harhakuvat
Label: Relapse Records
Distribution: Rough Trade Benelux.
Release date: August 2nd 2011
Review: CD

Except for Rotten Sound, Unkind is the only Finnish band I know on Relapse’s roster. Is it of any importance? No, so please ignore this unnecessary information…
Want some other interesting details? Harhakuvat means ‘illusions’. Tataaa…

Anyway, Harhakuvat is the band’s first full length on (major) Relapse, but apparently Unkind are active for quite some years in the underground, which includes three former albums, which I did (do) not know of (yet). Don’t mock me, because did you?
They did start as a Crust-formation, yet throughout the years they deepened their style a lot, getting rid of any limiting border-keeping narrow-mindedness, injecting their play with elements from related yet, at the same time, slightly different genres. And like many bands within these regions, the lyrics are politically critical, yet certainly not of the stupid kind, which does sicken too many Punk-based acts lately (and formerly). No, it’s quite serious (f*ck, it’s all sung in Finnish so I can’t really agree fully; it’s what our sweet internet tells me…) and apparently somewhat eccentric.

Harhakuvat, with a total running time of thirty seven minutes, starts with the title track, opening obscure, funereal and melodic at the same time, yet after about a minute and a half, the tempo speeds up, with thrashier melodies and a groovier rhythm section. Then come the vocals: brutal Crust / Hardcore screams...
Sludge, Hardcore, D-Beat, Punk, Heavy Metal, Crossover, Grindcore and Doom, all of this is part of the deal. The main focus, when it comes to melody and tempo, is the balance between doomy pieces with a desolate, ominous atmosphere (Woods Of Belial and Thergothon come to mind!), and technical but concrete-hard Metal / Hardcore eruptions based on anger and frustration. The ingenious song structures, the fine interaction between almost opposite genres, the highly-layered nuances when it comes to the performance, and the use of a few semi-acoustic guitars and some keyboard lines, it’s just a handful of recommendations that go along with this release.
It is highly interesting that this album goes way beyond limiting boundaries, for crossing the borders of Crust-Punk, Hardcore, (Funeral) Doom and Sludge Metal. Therefore, not just because it’s brave yet as well for the high quality, it must be considered another Relapse-highlight.

90/100

Ivan Tibos.