Unholy - Gracefallen (1999)

Originally formed in 1988 in Imatra, Finland under the name Holy Hell, this young band quickly produced a demo tape titled, 'Kill Jesus' a year later when not long there after they shortened the name to simply Unholy in 1990. Over the next decade they released two more demos, one EP and four full-length albums before eventually breaking up around 2002.

I first became acquainted with Unholy already about ten years ago through their third album, 'Rapture,' which is fantastic mind you, but their final offering from 1999, 'Gracefallen' is simply impeccable.

Unholy plays a brand of death/doom that's really within a league of their own and that's truly why I love them so much. The music moves at a sluggish pace and is crushingly heavy in its delivery with a trembling thick bulky guitar tone that's quite different from anything I've heard on any other band within this genre. Both Jarkko & Ismo Toivonen's guitar work is creepy and atmospheric and I truly can't even put it into words, but maybe you've felt it before. Its the sort of feeling you get when the hairs on your arms stand up on end and it truly gives the sense of something disastrous approaching. The few solos are also a bit short, but are tasteful and are greatly executed, just incredible to be honest. Pasi Äijö's bass guitar is equally beefy as slow wicked licks guide along with the guitars, which only adds to the incredibly ominous mood that Unholy creates through their music.

The keyboards handled by both Ismo and female vocalist Veera Muhli are beyond exceptional too. Again they offer up the sentiment of total dread on the horizon but at the same time they are fairly symphonic in their delivery almost sounding like the synths used on Emperor's, 'In the Nightside Eclipse.' It's that sort of half evil, half beautiful sound, which I gotta admit I really dig, at least when it works out, which it does here... and then some! Alternatively they also bring me back to classic horror movies of the 70's & 80's and I'm sure no one can argue with that sound.

The vocals appear as both low growls, which Pasi pulls off exceptionally, though Veera's female voice dominates the record. Her voice has this sort of echoed effect to it, which makes you think she's singing from afar. Her voice gels perfectly with the foreboding and depressive mood of this record, but through her voice the music also achieves a strange sort of unreal hypnotic effect, which makes me feel like she's singing for me and only me and through her words she's trying to possess me. I accept your invitation my dark mistress.

It's a bit hard to say, which song truly stands out since all nine songs are brilliant, but you certainly can't go wrong with, '...Of Tragedy,' 'Immaculate' or 'Daybreak,' but then there's also the somewhat speedier instrumental, 'Haoma' or 'Athene Noctua,' which has creepy spoken male vocals for its entire duration, but in the end the whole album is exceptional and I wouldn't hesitate in calling it one of the best death/doom records ever.

Sometime around 2002 Unholy split-up and it seems the members really didn't do much after that, but its been rumored that they reformed in 2009, though the band has crushed that rumor but said nothings impossible. Either way the band is set to release an LP boxset of the three demos and one EP as well Peaceville Records is planning to re-release all of the albums soon, which is fantastic since the first two albums have been impossible to hear for years and I'll be grateful when I can finally get my hands on those and have waves of utter melancholy and horror wash over me as the tide takes me out to hopeless oblivion.