Style: Dissonant Death Metal (harsh vocals)
Review by: Dan
Country: USA
Release date: 29 October, 2021
A good three-piece can often write the most honest, pure music. No gimmicks, no bullshit, just three undeniably essential band members, each of whom you can follow without too much effort. Tight unisons can groove like no one’s business, vocals tend to not be too overdone or showy, and there’s less emphasis on solos – all aspects that I’ll admit I enjoy in my death metal.
Minnesota 3-piece Sunless made a notable splash into the scene with their debut full-length Urraca. I found it one of the most aurally – and visually – pleasing dissonant death metal records of 2017, with a brilliant, clear, airy production thanks to the masterful ear of Colin Marston and a truly standout pale green color palette in the album cover. The vinyl was a stunning complementary purple too… ugh, I drooled over it for months, but just couldn’t bring myself to buy it. It was beautiful, and it sounded amazing, but I just couldn’t connect with the album’s riffs as intimately as I wanted to. I was, however, following the band with rapt attention for news of their followup.
After nearly five years of watching bassist Mitch Schooler’s dreadlocks grow past his knees, we have at last been graced with Ylem.
Perhaps it’s because I’ve been spoiled with the amount of Marston mixes I’ve gotten to enjoy lately, but on first impression I didn’t find the production of Ylem quite as memorable or noteworthy as I did its predecessor. The thin, airy guitars of Urraca let the deliciously growly bass fill a wider sonic space, and the vocals were reverby and distant – just how I like, well, everything in my mixes. In contrast, Ylem brings a much meatier guitar tone, cleaner bass, dryer vox, and – let’s be real – substantially better riffs.
Sunless has taken massive songwriting strides with Ylem. On my first listen, I nearly wrote the album off, content to revel in the auditory joys of its predecessor, but there was something about the overall album arc that just begged me to come back to it. My feelings at the album’s conclusion were undeniably positive, so I felt inescapably compelled to give the production another shot, to try and really connect with the record.
There’s a thoughtfulness apparent in these 39 minutes, from the first second to the last, that’s refreshing and memorable. Immediately catching the listener’s attention with guitarist/vocalist Lucas Scott’s delivery of “Spiraling into…” (an anchor amidst the intricate, churning onslaught of discordant and downbeat-irreverent riffing) and then concluding with that fucking badass outro riff are two deliberate choices that pay off big time, landing this record solidly in “most memorable” territory for the year. An impressive feat for an album whose intent is seemingly to be otherwise antimemorable.
The riffs themselves are practically atonal, deceptively technical, with constantly shifting time signatures shamelessly reveling in their Gorguts-ian influences. Short repeating bits abruptly change into meandering transitions that become new riffs themselves. It’s a delightfully unpredictable journey through the minds of these three musicians. The songs are enjoyable, balanced and well-structured, but to be honest, they all kind of blend together, especially in the middle of the album. It makes me wish the band was a bit more into dynamics.
Nothing on Ylem is ever quite vicious or furious enough to leave a lasting impression, nor do the dynamics dip quite enough for a viscerally satisfying payoff. Newcomer Taylor Hamel’s drumming, while a mathy and proficient complement to the group’s fidgety rhythms, dwells in very similar intensity levels throughout. I’d argue that the peaks of Urraca might have even reached higher than on Ylem for a hint more impactfulness overall. To be honest though, it’s quite hard for me to say which album I prefer.
I am certainly not complaining that we get more Sunless to listen to. Ylem shows tremendous leaps in maturity and songwriting for the band, and leaves a lasting, memorable impression as a technical and engaging record. I’m sure we’ll see it topping end-of-year lists for some folks. Perhaps with a bigger focus on dynamics and more song-to-song variation they might top mine, but regardless of anyone’s arbitrary album rankings I’ll be returning to both Ylem and Urraca on the regular.
Recommended tracks: Spiraling Into the Unfathomable, the middle of the album, Molding Axioms of the Metaphysical
Recommended for fans of: Gorguts, Deathspell Omega, Suffering Hour
You may also like: Noctambulist, Diskord, Intonate
Final verdict: 7/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Metal-Archives page
Label: Willowtip – Bandcamp | Website | Facebook
Sunless is:
– Lucas Scott (guitar, vocals)
– Mitch Schooler (bass)
– Taylor Hamel (drums)
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