I'm going to mention in the second part of this feature.

Keep your eyes peeled for the second part of my feature, which will focus on the hardcore/punk scene that has been around in Harrogate for a while along with some of the more extreme bands, and people who champion them!.

Monday, 20 February 2012

Unfold are a 12 legged metal band from Switzerland, and Cosmogon is their latest record, which has been released by Swiss record label Division Records.

Opener Erebe starts with slow riffing and rabid, almost black-metal screams. The music is very reminiscent of fellow Swiss noise mongers Knut, who incidentally have shared Unfold's label in the past. This is very dissonant in places, relying on clean and tuneful guitar to bring the sense of melody that makes Unfoldsmusic multi dimensional. The keyboards instruments are used to add another dimension to the music, add the melodic vocals, while quiet do remind me of Deftones slightly, a strange comparison I know. It's a very positive introduction to a band, that until now, I've not heard.

Opening track Erebe fades straight into their second track Hemere, which is immediately a heavier proposition. The rhythm section is more apparent and the use of the same guitar riff, gives you a sense of Unfold wanting to create a more austere, claustrophobic atmosphere with their instrumentation.

Third track Hystrion, appears out of the feedback, with some clever, almost tribal drumming, before lurching back to the more melodic sound of the opener. Fellow experimentalists The Ocean do start to spring to mind when listening