The Unchaining/Ithlien/2015 Full Length Review

  The  Unchaining,  Italy's  one  man  band  has  returned  with  a  new  album  that  continues  to  expand  on  the  atmospheric  black  metal  sound  that  he  has  established  and  previous  recordings  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2015  album  "Ithlien".

  A  very  dark  ambient  synth  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  going  for  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  direction  along  with  some  grim  sounding  screams  while  also  keeping  the  atmospheric  elements  that  where  also  present  on  the  intro  and  a  good  portion  of  the  tracks  are  also  long  and  epic  in  length  and  also  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction.

  At  times  the  synths  bring  in  a  medieval  feeling  along  with  some  parts  that  would  fit  on  a  fantasy  movie  soundtrack  which  is  also  mixed  in  with  the  more  raw  style  of  black  metal  and  in  some  parts  of  the  songs  you  can  also  hear  traces  of  doom  metal  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  added  onto  the  recording  they  add  more  of  a  melodic  feeling  to  the  recording  on  the  tracks  that  they  are  utilized  along  with  some  of  the  riffs  also  incorporating  a  small  amount  of  melody  on  while  one  of  the  later  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  and  clean  singing.

  Just  like  with  the  past  few  recordings  The  Unchaining  creates  another  atmospheric  black  metal  album  that  is  very  raw  and  epic  sounding  as  well  as  remaining  true  to  the  some  musical  direction  that  has  been  present  on  the  last  few  albums,  the  production  sound s very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  nature  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  the  Unchaining  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Eyes  of  The  Forest"  and  "Dawn".  8  out  of  10.

https://theunchaining.bandcamp.com/

          

The Unchaining/Fornost Erain/2014 Full Length Review

  Italy's  1  man  band  The  Unchaining  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  that  continues  his  epic  and  atmospheric  approach  to  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of his  self  released  2014  album  "Fornost  Erain".

  Epic  sounding  synths  start  off  the  album  bringing  in  the  atmosphere  of  a  fantasy  movie  soundtrack  along  with  elements of  dungeon  synth  and  after  the  instrumental  ambient  track  programmed  beats  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  raw  guitar  riffing  and  grim  screams  which  takes  the  music  more  into  an  atmospheric  black  metal  direction.

  There  is  a  good  balance  between  synths,  guitars  and  vocals  throughout  the  recording  and  the  songs  stick  mostly  to  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  all  of  the  tracks  have  an  epic  feeling  to  them  along  with  one  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  synths  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  medieval  atmosphere's  into  the  musical  sound.

  Halfway  through  the  album  a  brief  instrumental  is  added  onto  the  recording  and  the  synths  use  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  and  bring  a  folk  music  feeling  into  the  song  before  returning  back  to  a  more  raw  and  atmospheric  black  metal  direction  on  the  following  track  along  with  some  influences  of  doom  metal  being  added  into  the  slower  sections  of  the  guitar  riffing  and  you  can  also  hear  some  acoustic  guitar  playing  being  added  into  the  music  briefly,  in  certain  sections  the  synths  bring  in  a  symphonic  feeling  while  the  guitars  always  remain  in  a  rawer  direction  and  on  some  of  the  songs  towards  the  end  they  start  adding  in  small  amounts  of  melodic  guitar  leads  and  the   album  closes  with  another  dungeon  synth  style  instrumental.  

  The  Unchaining  remains  true  to  his  raw  and  epic  atmospheric  black  metal  sound  on  this  recording  and  he  makes  the  music  more  interesting  by  always  keeping  the  vocals  grim  and  the  guitar  riffing  adds  a  raw  side  of  black  metal  into  his  musical  sound,  the  production  has  a  very  dark  and  raw  sound  while  the  lyrics  cover  nature,  spirituality,  myth  and  introspection.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  The  Unchaining  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  epic  and  atmospheric  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "A  Stream  Of  Silver  Swords"  and  "Fornost  Erain".  8  out  of  10.

http://theunchaining.bandcamp.com/


     
  

The Unchaining Interview

 1. Can you tell us a little bit about the musical project for those that have never heard of you before?
1.I'm a one man band of Atmospheric Black Metal called The Unchaining.The project was born around one year ago and i have recorded two album,the first,"Wandering through the landscapes of mind",is released by rigorism production. I have just released my new album "Ruins At Dusk".

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is present on both albums?
2.The two album has differences in the sound:the first album has cold guitars and keyboards, it has some elements of old doom and songs entirely with clean guitars.
The second album in my opinion is the evolution of the first one:the sound is darker,there is more doom component,the songs are longer and hypnotic with more keyboards but it 
is always an album of atmospheric black metal.


3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with your music?
3.Both album are introspective,a lot.An important theme for me is man in relation with nature and so with the universe,so with himself.Another important thing in the lyrics is the relation with ancient times and the contraposition and interpenetration of light and darkness.


4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name The Unchaining?

4.The meaning of the name The Unchaining wants to be a liberation through knowledge.

5.Currently there is only 1 member in the project, do you feel you have a lot more room to be creative with your music?

5. I think it's a genre of music that enhances the creativity of the individual, but maybe one day can be interesting to have some collaborations.

6.Recently Rigorism released some of your music on cd, do you feel they have done a lot of help for getting your name out?

6.They have released my first album and i think they are doing a good job! they are a small label but they do a great job for the bands,they are keeping the underground alive!

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of atmospheric black metal?
 7.Nowadays thanks to sites like soundcloud,bandcamp and youtube is simple to everyone to reach any kind of music, so i'm glad that a lot of fans of this genre express their appreciation for my music,thanks to everyone!


8.Are you involved with any other musical projects?
8.Yes,i have another band with a friend of mine called DEEP,different genre,we play stoner doom. he is a great musician and he is involved in other musical project like Lizard Queen and other black metal project.


9.What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
9.For now i want to keep this kind of black metal doom. I want to keep play atmospheric black metal but i hope to record every album different in order to explore creativity.


10.What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
10.There are a lot of great bands i have listened and listen nowadays. just for mention some of them:old Ancient albums,old Dimmu Borgir albums,old Ulver albums,Abigor, Satyricon(in particular Dark Medieval Times),Blut Aus Nord,Summoning(really great band in my opinion) and many many more.

11.Outside of music what are some of your interests?
11.I read a lot and i'm interested in nature,philosophy and spirituality.

12.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
12.Thank you very much for this interview and for your support! 
Great webzine! 

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The Unchaining/Ruins At Dusk/2013 Full Length Review

  This  is  a  review  of  another  recording  from  The  Unchaining  which  continues  his  atmospheric  approach  to  black  metal  with  the  album being  self  released  in  2013  and  called  "Ruins  At Dusk'.

   "Ruins  At Dusk"  begins  with  some  dark  acoustic  guitar  playing  along  with  some  soft  synths  in  the  background  and  serves  as  an intro  for  the  album.

  "Lords  Of  The  Autumnal  Mist"  begins  with  some  doom  metal  style  guitar  riffs  and  drums  and  after  a  few  seconds  melodic  guitar  riffing  and  grim  black  metal  screams  are  added  to  the  song  and  a  minute  later  synths  make  their  way  into  the  music  and  as  time  goes  on  by  the  music  goes  into  a  more  fast  and  primitive  black  metal  direction  for  a  few  seconds  before  slowing  down  while  also  keeping  around  the  primitive  elements.

   ''The  Awakening  Of  Fangorn"  begins  with  some  atmospheric  synths  before  the  slow  and  primitive  guitar  riffs  kick  in  along  with  some  drum  beats  and  grim  vocals  while  also  keeping  around  the  synths  and  adding  in  some  doom  metal  influences  and  halfway  through  the  song  the  music  goes  into  a  softer  direction  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars  that  utilize  a  great  amount  of  finger  picking  for  a  few  seconds  before  getting  heavy again.

  'On  Wintry  Tails"  begins  with  some  atmospheric  sounding  synths  which  utilize  a  variety  of  keys  and  a  minute  alter  fast,  melodic  and  primitive  guitar  riffs  along  with  some  drums  and  high  pitched  screams  make  their  way  into  the  song  before  going  into  a  more  mid  paced  direction  along  with  a  brief  use  of  blast  beats.

  "Marching  From  Beyond"  begins  with  some  slow  doom  metal  guitar  riffs  and  drums  and  a  few  seconds  later  melodic  clean  singing  vocals  are  added  into  the  song  along  with  some  grim  black  metal  vocals  and  as  time  goes  on  by  the  riffing  starts  getting  a lot  more  diverse  along  with  a  brief  use  of  dark  and  melodic  guitar  leads.        

  "Shadow  Vest"  begins  with  some  epic  and  atmospheric  sounding  dark  ambient  synths  and  this  song  is  all  instrumental  and  less  than  2  minutes.

  'Enshrined  In  Darkness"  begins  with  some  primitive  sounding old  school  black  metal  guitar  riffs  and  drums  before  slowing  down  and  adding  in  some  melodic  leads  and  spoken  word  parts  before  getting  fast  and  primitive  again  and  adding  in  some  grim  vocals  as  well  as  adding  some  melody  into  the  guitar  riffing  and  after  awhile  synths  make  their  presence  known  in  the  song  while  also  taking  the  music  into  a  slower  direction.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  primitive  sound  to  it  along  with  a  couple  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  The  Unchaining  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Awakening  Of  Fangorn"  and  "Enshrined  In  Darkness".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

http://theunchaining.bandcamp.com/

 
  

The Unchaining/Wandering Through The Landscapes Of Mind/2013 Full Length Review

  The  Unchaining  are  a  1  man  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  very  atmospheric  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2013  album  "Wandering  Through  The  Landscapes  Of  Mind".

  'Meditation"  begins  with  some  clean  guitars and  serves as  an  intro  for  the  album.

   ''The  Wanderer"  begins  with  some  primitive  black  metal  guitar  riffs  and  grim  sounding  screams  along  with  some  drum  beats  and  after  a  minute  atmospheric  sounding  synths  make  their  way  into  the  song  and  a  minute  later  clean  guitar  parts  make  their way  into  the  song  and  the  music  goes  into  a  softer  direction  for  awhile  being  going  back  to  its  heavy  and  primitive  roots  while  also  keeping  the  clean  parts  in  the  background.

  'The  Wolf"  begins  with  some  melodic  and primitive  black  metal  guitar  riffing,  drum  beats  and  grim  vocals  and  after  awhile  synths  make  their  way  into  the  song  which  also  takes  the  music  into  a  more  melodic  direction.

  "Meditation(part  2)"  begins  with  some  dark  ambient  style  synths  and  the  music  is  all  instrumental  on  this  song.  

  'Wisdom"  begins  with  some  heavy  doom  metal  style  guitar  riffs  and  then  some  drum  beats  come  in  along  with  primitive  black  metal  elements  being  mixed  with  doom  and  then  the  high  pitched  screams  start  kicking  in  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  riffing  and  then  the  music  goes  into  a  more  fast  and  primitive  black  metal  direction  and  halfway  through  the  song  the  music  goes  into  a  softer  direction  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars  and  synths  for  a  few  seconds  and  then  the  music  goes  into  a  dark  and  slow  heavier  direction  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads.

  'The  Wind  Is  Blowing  Free"  begins  with  some  fast  and  primitive  black  metal  guitar  riffs  and  drums  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  and  half  way  through  the  song  the  music  starts slowing  down  and  adds  in  some  black  metal  screams  for  a  few  seconds  before  going  back  to  is  more  fast  and  primitive  roots.

  "Stars"  begins  with  some clean  guitar  playing  and  a  few  seconds  later  chanting  makes  its  way into  the  song

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  themes,  while  the  production  has  a very dark,  raw  and  primitive  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  The  Unchaining  are  a  very  great  sounding atmospheric  black  metal project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out t his  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Wanderer"  and  "Wisdom".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.  

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