UNEARTH hailing from Boston, Massachusetts were formed in 1998. The Metalcore outfit has an impressive list of releases. After 25 active years, the 8^th full-length album "The Wretched; The Ruinous" was released via German Metal specialists Century Media Records. Will Putney (LORNA SHORE; PIG DESTROYER; THY ART IS MURDER) produced, recorded, mixed, and mastered the album at Graphic Nature Audio, Belleville, New Jersey. It has a length of about 37 minutes. The album starts with the title song, and it starts strongly with powerful guitar riffs, a lot of double-bass drumming and plenty of changes in tempo and rhythm. "The Wretched; The Ruinous" includes driving mid-tempo parts as well as melodic chorus parts with a melancholic touch in the melodies at a measured tempo, and punchy down-tempo parts. The vocals are growls and screams and they cover the medium to the higher end of the guttural range. "Cremation Of The Living" has a frantic start with a blast-beat attack transitioning into a verse part at crazy speed. While the verse parts are flesh-ripping, the chorus parts have epic melodies driven by the lead guitars, the double-bass, and the vocal chorus lines at a measured tempo. The song includes many twists in rhythm covering the whole range of different tempi, where the short down-tempo parts are thunderous.

"Eradicator" starts with powerful riffing at mid-tempo with a seamless switch to a highly paced verse part. The song is very complex with many twists and turns in rhythm and melodies, which makes listen to it to a challenge. Highlight for me is the extended lead guitar solo. "Mother Betrayal" has a ballad-esque introduction, but changes soon to the familiar pattern with verse parts at high speed and tight riffing, and transitional bridges towards the chorus parts with epic melodies. The vocal performance of Trevor Phipps is excellent as his versatility gives the track (and not only this one) an extra dimension. "Invictus" is one of the hammering songs with a double-bass thunderstorm, tight riffing, and the lead guitars driving the track forward at frantic pace. The down-tempo chorus parts are thunderous. Even though there are several rhythm changes, the track is relatively direct and straightforward compared to most tracks on the album. "Invictus" finishes with a cool breakdown and is for me one of the album highlights.

"Call Of Existence" starts with the chorus line and with catchy melodies at mid-tempo. While the chorus parts are direct, the rest of track is not and undergoes many changes in melodies and rhythm. There are heavy and powerful parts as well as melancholic parts, all connected by the chorus parts. "Dawn Of The Militant" starts with an extended guitar part at mid-tempo, transitioning into a fast verse part with tight riffing. While the first half of the track consists of the three parts verse, bridge, and chorus at different rhythms, the second half is a thunderous down-tempo part with another breakdown. After the one-minute guitar instrumental inter-lude "Aniara", the Metalcore attack continues with "Into The Abyss" starts with powerful riffing and catchy melodies at mid-tempo. While the verse parts are at mid-tempo, the chorus parts are thunderous at down-tempo. Highlight is the down-tempo break near the end of the track where vocalist Trevor Phipps once again stamps his authority on the song. The vocals include many higher screams and a couple of clean notes.

"Into The Abyss" is the official video release, and the YouTube link is provided below. "Broken Arrow" is a heavy track with direct riffing and a slightly different sound as it comes with a few Hardcore vibes. It is a very welcomed sound change and keeps things fresh on the album. The final song "Theaters Of War" is another hammering at mid-tempo with down-tempo parts, lots of double-bass drumming, and sharp riffing. The lead guitars provide the melodies for the chorus parts, but unlike many other album tracks, they are neither epic nor melancholic. The two highlights are the lead guitar solo and the powerful down-tempo part at the end of the track.

UNEARTH deliver a crushing album. "The Wretched; The Ruinous" is a thunderous release where Metalcore meets Deathcore and melodic Death Metal vibes. It is not an easy-to-listen album as many songs are complex with twists in rhythm and melodies. It is all kept together by the versatility of an excellent vocalist. The album is very well produced. Fans of UNEARTH will be delighted with the new album as "The Wretched; The Ruinous" proves that UNEARTH are still a serious force in Metalcore.