Unearthly Trance
Nuit/sonicburialhymns (Demo) 2001 No Label
What I've got here, is a cd-r containing two demo's of the band: 'Nuit' and 'Sonicburialhymns'. However, there are a lot of musical resemblances between the two works. Therefore, this cd can be listened to as one sole entity. Unearthly Trance can be described as the missing link between Winter, Grief and Neurosis (yeah right, try to figure this out). To be more specific: this is insane, oppressive and chaotic music with screaming vocals and a slight psychedelic touch (which is perhaps the element which distinguishes this band the most from the aforementioned acts). The 'groove' present on most of the tracks is especially comparable to the sound of Grief. Some weird parts with clean guitars bathing in strange psychedelic effects, serve as the 'bridge' between the heavy parts of this band. The production on both demo's is 'dirty',obscure and underground, creating a perfect match with the raw sound of this band. This is no music for the harmonic doomsters among us who languish at the sweet violin sounds of the Bride. This is a tribute to ugliness and heaviness that shall most probably appeal to sludge doom fans and fans of bands like Winter and Burning Witch. Therefore, I urge those fans to check out and support this promising band.	1. Blackheart 2. Moonsmoke 3. Branches of anti-gravity 4. Phoenix undead 5. Lord humanless awakens 6. Storm of infinity Approx. 37 minutes
Reviewed by: Kostas Panagiotou
Hadit (Mcd) 2002 No Label
Unearthly Trance deliver a very solid piece of doom with this excellent underground release. Their music can best be described as a mix of stoner, sludge and traditional doom, with a very heavy dose of lethargy and insane screaming. For the latter reasons this music will also appeal to those who usually avoid the aforementioned subgenres. Above all, Unearthly Trance play heavy doom, which should be the main criterion for the more unbiased listeners of today. 'Hadit' isn't a very evoking set of songs, but I'm guessing that wasn't really the point to start with anyway. The four mammoth tracks are so full of great riffs and passages to sweep you away that you won't mind the absence of ‘artsy bits'. The production is very raw, but clear enough and somehow I get the idea that the songs were recorded live instead of being pieced together afterwards. Enjoyably so, I might add. This creates a certain atmosphere that closely relates to seeing a good doom band live. I presume seeing Unearthly Trance is a similar experience. At least listening to this release will leave you struggling NOT to bang your head. Unfortunately, this release was limited to 200 copies and is as such quite unavailable. But, if you get the chance to acquire a copy of this demo, don't hesitate if you enjoy a good spell of crushing, straight-up doom.	1. August Sun of Midnight 2. Raised by the Wolves 3. VVVV 4. Pyre Approx. 34 minutes
Reviewed by: Oscar Strik
Season of séance, science of silence (CD) 2003 The Music Cartel Inc
The way I see it, Unearthly Trance are the personification of evil, three joyless, mysterious creatures hailing from the dark pits of a nightmarish, Lovecraftian Universe. The bleak, colourless artwork of `Season of séance…` is the first guide to an art which is bleak, obscure and disturbing at the same time. In the grim tradition of deities like Grief, Neurosis and even Darkthrone, the six compositions on this recording succeed in capturing the spirit of ugliness and grimness in musical expression. Take f.i. the impressive `Mass of the phoenix`, probably one of the slowest (proper) songs ever written. Between each pounding drum beat, between each long-drawn guitar chord and hateful scream, there seems to reside a whole parallel world, a world which could be very well described by the second part of the album title: `science of silence`. It is here where silence reigns that Satan created His filthy realm, a realm of icecold desolation and despondent grimnity as opposed to the popular representation of eternal hellfire and the cries of agony of the damned. This album seems to be roughly divided into two types of songs which blend effortlessly into one single whole. From one side there are the torturously slow heavy-weights like the aforementioned `Mass of the phoenix` and `The aftermath was morbid`. From the other side, one can find hateful, sludgy tracks like `When anti-humanity flourishes` with its many up-tempo parts. In both types of compositions however, there is an undercurrent of hate, filthiness and darkness which unites the individual songs into one disgustingly heavy mix of the most repulsive excesses that the extreme metal scene has to offer. Given the nature of the groove-laden, Sabbathian riffs which are the foundation of the album's architecture, I expect this work to appeal especially to fans of sludgedoom like Grief and Eyehategod and groovedoom in the vein of Electric Wizard and the Southern Lord bands. However, the evil nature of this work allows me to recommend it to all worshippers of musical darkness and grimness as well. "Let the abyss be my solitary superior".	1. Raised by the wolves 2. Mass of the phoenix 3. When anti-humanity flourishes 4. Wandering Winter Winds 5. Black heart/black lung 6. The aftermath was morbid Approx. 45 minutes
Reviewed by: Kostas Panagiotou