Ohh, this one is a classic. I imagine when it came out in 1993, a lot of people scratched their heads. Back then death metal still reigned supreme (though not for long), and the upcoming black metal explosion was just beginning to rear its head. Where did Unholy fit in all this? Nowhere really. They were, and still are, very much in the league of their own. Besides, I think it would be a fair assessment if I said that even up to this day doom remains one of the less popular metal subgenres (ok-ok, My Dying Bride and the like notwithstanding).

But anyway, several minutes into "From The Shadows" you can already be sure that some twisted minds are at work here. It is doom alright, undeniably heavy and depressing at that, but it is nothing like you've heard before. It's that unique guitar sound - all thick and gluey - which Unholy pretty much retained up to this date. It's those otherworldly occult tendencies that the band are so good at projecting. It's this bizarre song writing style that this album along with "The Second Ring Of Power" showcased so well.

The songs are just so far beyond the realm of normalcy, or sanity for that matter, that you can never take them for granted. These psychoneurotic pieces sluggishly veer, interlace and mess with your mind, guiding you through a murky labyrinth from which there is no way out. Just when you think you saw a glimpse of an exit, a ray of light from underneath the clouds of darkness, you better not believe it, for your hopes will be dashed ever so brutally. In other words, don't listen (and by "listen" I mean "really listen") to it if your sanity is dear to you.

But hey, who needs sanity in this world anyway? Sanity must be crushed, eradicated, knocked out with a knuckle-duster and burned down with napalm. Morbid Angel were right after all. Blessed are the sick. So get this album you sane bastard, embrace the blessed delirium or be forever confined in a nutshell of sober rationality. Now that would be scary.

© 2000 boris