“You’re like a crystalline world.”
Over the past few years, Unprocessed’s trajectory away from hyper-tech-metal with pop sensibilities, to hyper-tech-pop with metal sensibilities has been a notable shift in many ways, perhaps other than its descriptor. This change was signalled fairly heavily around a year on from their 2019 full-length, Artificial Void, with “deadrose”, a track that dialled back the group’s metal aspects in favour of a spacious, dark pop ballad. Of course, with Unprocessed carrying the reputation they do, it would be out of character if the backbone track was not still somehow plastered in complex guitar work, but the implementation here seemed different. This was a change that ushered in a new era for the band, with countless singles and an EP all culminating in the release of their dense and lengthy fifth LP, Gold, in 2022.
While I found a great deal of enjoyment in Gold, and in its preceding standalone singles, there was a fraction of my tech-metal-addicted mind that yearned for something a bit more biting; something that highlighted the technical abilities and songwriting capabilities present on Gold, but in the more overtly tech-metal shell of their earlier work. Now, with their sixth studio album, …and everything in between, Unprocessed seem to have answered my prayers and crafted a record that seeks to combine everything the band does well, but in a far, far heavier shell.
Out of the gate, …and everything in between wastes no time and holds no shame in showing its full hand. Sonically, opener “Hell” feels like an appropriate representation of its namesake, as the metaphorical gates open to its fiery, ferocious soundscape that stands as certainly one of the most bombastic and chaotic songs that Unprocessed have yet penned. With djenty grooves, techy riffs and piercings screams aplenty, “Hell” is a fierce statement of intent from the group, one that communicates wholly that the German group are heavier and better than ever.
These are sentiments echoed in following tracks “Lore” and “Thrash”, as the tempo set by “Hell” is somehow matched with ease, providing some hyper-speed riffing on both tracks that will leave any avid guitarist with mouth agape. That’s not to say these tracks don’t tap into Unprocessed’s more melodic side, however, as all three further feature some gorgeous and downright massive choruses, and it’s when the group provide the contrast; the push and pull between the rampant brutality and keen melodicism that …and everything in between’s overarching sound really comes together.
Mid-album cut “Die On The Cross Of The Martyr”, featuring fellow guitar prodigies Tim Henson and Scott LePage of Polyphia, further proves that the electric energy of the album’s opening tracks was not a simple fluke, with some of the most technical and aggressive moments seen yet. The inclusion of Henson and LePage certainly adds a more subdued, melodic and juxtapositional flair when held up against some of the track’s heaviest moments, but it only works to further than notion of push and pull, and the masterful contrast as noted in the previous tracks.
Further highlights appear across the back half of the record, most notably with “Abysm”, which provides the most diverse sonic palette seen on the record yet. Crescendoing from a dark, electronic and compositionally sparse ballad to an unrelenting bout of technicality and fury toward its back half, “Abysm” proves to be one of the most breathtaking cuts that Unprocessed have crafted to date.
“Purgatory” brings the album to a close with one of the record’s most melodically-angled tracks yet. Not intent on relenting just yet, however, the track’s gorgeous atmosphere and dark melodic structures are juxtaposed by some truly powerful and violently heavy moments. A track equal parts chaotic and beautiful, it feels like an apt and well-rounded way close out …and everything in between; a mission statement on the album’s intent. To encompass and showcase everything that Unprocessed does so well – the bright, the dark, and everything in between. Because of that, it’s hard to leave the record feeling that this is anything other than Unprocessed’s magnum opus, and a true achievement in marrying the two contrasting worlds of sound they combine in the most concise and complete way they have to date.
9/10
…and everything in between is due out this Friday, December 1st via self-release, and you can find pre-orders here.