review by: Jez Andrews

Every so often, there comes a band who perfectly represents their genre. Not necessarily the best that the genre has to offer, but one whose music portrays all the true nature and feeling of their chosen style. I believe that Unlord have become such a band. They have lost some of the rawness of the Schwartzwald and Gladiator albums, but if anything, their music has become more brutal, seething, and yet more focused at the same time. Many black metal bands have benefitted from the classic wasp in a bottle guitar sound, such as Darkthrone, Mutiilation, Veles and Judas Iscariot, but Unlord have created the perfect balance of clarity and violence.

The songs on Lord of Beneath have quite a short average running time, and not a second is wasted in this glorious banquet of savage excellence. The only minor criticism I have of Unlord are the moments where Yhr's vocals chance to stray into Iron Monkey territory, but depending on your tastes, this could possibly be a virtue. "Angel of Fire" makes fantastic use of blastbeat/double bass drum combinations as well as a grand atmosphere given by a nicely reverbed keyboard track.

The tempo changes during the album make each track very effective, and the slight thrash influence is no bad thing. Great importance has been placed on the musicianship, which comes across beautifully. The flawless drumming, the squealing guitar assault, backed up and thickened out by the punchy basslines. And let us not forget that vicious black metal war cry...

Unlord have no time for subtlety or compromise, as shown in tracks such as "Horsemen out of the Cold" and "Torch the Bastards," and nor should they have. Bands of their ilk must be well appreciated in this day and age, especially when you consider how many bands have diluted the scene.