By DJ Monk
The Unity trace their roots back to 2016, when Gamma Ray drummer Michael Ehré and guitarist Henjo Richter teamed up with Italian singer Gianbattista Manetti. With two albums already under their belts, and a steady line-up now in place, the combo are setting out to prove just how much ‘Pride’ they have in their blend of hard rock and melodic metal with this, their third album…
Now, it would be easy to dismiss both the band and the album as “power metal”, and certainly it contains many of the characteristics of this particular sub-genre, from the huge guitar harmonies, the sweeping symphonics to the bombastic approach and soaring vocals, but there are many more reference points contained herein that push aside singular musical comparisons, with elements of thrash and prog also prevalent. The opening couplet of ‘Hands Of Time’ and ‘Line And Sinker’, for example, pound and pummel with a combination of metallic passion and radio-friendly AOR sensibility, the latter driven by a massive bass line, while lead single ‘We Don’t Need Them Here’ (only one of two tracks that clocks in at under four minutes) growls like a cornered wolf, its addressing of political intolerance (and particularly far-right nationalism) delivered at positively breakneck speed.
Lyrically, The Unity are not afraid to shy away from subjects of mutual concern, including climate change (the aforementioned ‘Hands Of Time’), depression (‘Line And Sinker’) and governments acting illegally. It’s quite ironic that ‘Pride’ is issued right in the teeth of the current coronavirus “crisis”, as it perfectly addresses the way many people feel about the world in which we live at the moment, with our lives turned upside down and any sense of social normality thrown completely out the window. Of course, it’s not all doom and gloom, as ‘Destination Unknown’ is an unadulterated love song, delivered with a suitably joyous sense of celebration.
Third albums can be highly awkward beasts, taking their creators in one of several directions: abject failure to deliver on the promise of what has gone before, an exercise in treading water – or, a massive step forward in confidence. ‘Pride’ is very firmly in the latter category: a massive sounding, and massively delivered album, rich and sonorous, mature and accomplished without sounding over-practised or over-thought. If you like your heavy rock with a liberal dose of metal up its posterior, then this most definitely, and defiantly, is an album for you, Crank it up and forget about the cares of the outside world for the duration of this lavish release.
- ‘Pride’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
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