"I thought the joke was on Altaria; turns out it was on me..."Born out of the massive upheaval in leaving the Metal Heaven label, Unholy finds the new Altaria ditching the keyboards and the European trappings Divinity and The Fallen Empire were drenched in. In its place we have an 80's rock sound that is, quite literally, embarrassing in this day and age. I couldn't stop laughing during my first listen through the album. As one can imagine, a song like "Steal Your Thunder" (which sounds like something Diamond Dave would have performed) is as silly as it sounds.
As outdated as it is (let's be honest) it starts to click after a few listens, try as you might to reject and ignore it. You know you shouldn't like it, and there are other bands and albums (like 2004's Divinity) worthy of the attention, but it pulls you in with a Star Wars-esque tractor beam regardless. This brings me to a quote in the booklet by vocalist Marco Lupenero, which tells one they're an idiot if they don't like this album. Hmmm... well, I think liking this album makes me an idiot, so I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if don't, eh? This won't stop me from enjoying a crunchy tune like "The Lake" or anything, but it definately makes me question the experience at hand.
CONCLUSION:
Unholy is a classic example of something that's crafted so it can't fail yet it can't really succeed. I guess for some that's fine, but for a band that was somewhat lost in the vast sea of European metal acts, the approach and path taken here is no less treacherous or shorter. That said, one has to wonder if the eventual follow-up can skirt by with an identical scheme. Part of me kind of hopes not.
Overall Score: 7/10
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