UnSun is certainly nothing particularly original under the sun. They are yet another in the great, ever lengthening line of female fronted goth-ish bands that keep getting churned out. Some are hoisted off the assembly line awash in techno, pop, metal, techno, electronica, classical and other flavors to help distinguish them from one another. A tactic that usually fails since they are all running together at this point, with a few notable exceptions.
UnSun's biggest star power is their leader, ex-
Vader guitarist Maurycy Stefanowicz, who's death metal background really has very little to do with this album at all, much to the dismay of his fans.
What they are really banking on is the appeal of their female singer. Aya is easy enough on the eyes, that's for sure. Legs that go for miles, blonde coiffed and a pixie attitude pout match the flitty, pretty little voice that melds nicely with
UnSun's deliberate pop sensibilities (so to speak). She sounds quite like a sylph on the ballads and manages to flutter through the heavier pieces admirably. Nothing is too restraining for her, and the overall feeling is that she is being held back to keep in the constraints of the streamlined, radio darling music. This is fine, because it's becoming an anticipated annoyance to hear female singers struggling to keep pace with the music or hitting notes that are technically sound but are completely out of place. The music here is guitar oriented, defined by their chugging, driving riffs forcing their way to be leader of the pack. Tinkling keyboards (for the brittle, more glacial numbers) or moody organ-synth (for the rest) carve another sizeable chunk of their atmospheric, gothy sound.
It's not terribly original, you can hear a billion and a half bands scampering about in their struggles for a signature stamp, in similar molds, all trying to copy the big guns. These big guns include (but not limited to) Within Temptation, Evanescence, Lacuna Coil and others. Their offshoot admirers never rise to the same level as these bands, but struggle just beneath. As does
UnSun, but atleast this outfit has a sound album when all is said and done.
"End of Life" has alot of poppish melodies running through the veins of the songs and it helps boost the quality of the album tremendously. It's another world and a far cry from the death metal acts of their band leaders, although some of that chunky, drowning victim feel is plowed into here, like a goth kid at a Hot Topic sale. Rummaging through the tracks, the first uncovered offering of note is their "single" called
"Whispers". It's a charming bit of a song, all full of itself and high on its thick riffs and commercial melodic punch. Aya's voice stutter-shivers over the top and a super slick melody laces through it like an intoxicant, the slick heady aggression weaving it's senses manipulating spell. Very radio friendly and goes down easy like sugar after a shot.
"Memories" is soft and composed, chilly and transcendent. Its stark nature and confection-like vocals give it a cold, fragile quality.
"Bring Me to Heaven" has piano on ice and breathy vocals, plenty of emotion, uncurling like tendrils of smoke in a winter's night and framed in electronic touches. The meandering pianos and thick electric guitars are the opening signals for
"Destiny". This one has a strong, rich melody that is the framework for the song, as Aya's voice is like a water fairy dancing on cresting, angry waves, taming the ocean and always managing to keep her head above the water level.
Other tracks don't quite live up to the rest, blending into mediocrity these include
"Lost Innocence" with its garbage vocal shouting and atypical "modern rock" distorted misplaced aggression.
"Indifference" is a techno/electronica/metal experiment that fizzles and fails. Others are fairly typical but are risen to greater heights thanks to well placed synth, shredding guitars and sweeping moods, such as
"The Other Side" and
"On the Edge". They are not going to break any boundaries but are pleasant enough as is.
UnSun's largest obstacle is not their album, or even the quality of it, but the expectations laid upon the band. Fans of
Vader believe the guitarist is squandering his talents playing in a "symphonic goth" outfit. Others are disappointed that
UnSun is NOT another vehicle for a vocal spectacle like
Tarja in
Nightwish, and
UnSun is not attempting to claim that throne either. Aya is just as cold at her core, but has a smooth mid range that slides into the music with ease. Operatic she is not, but this helps to separate them rather than being yet another
Nightwish clone.
"The End of Life" is simply another outlet for the guitarist and is well produced and put together. That should be what listeners are concentrating on. For a goth-lite album, it succeeds quite well, and is a much more satisfying choice than other newcomers such as
Amberian Dawn or the "wish for deaf" that is the
Forever Slave abomination. An enjoyable listen through and through, although not a particularly memorable one.
Written by
Alanna Saturday, November 1, 2008
Show all reviews by AlannaRatingsAlanna: 6.5/10Members: No members have rated this album yet.
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