"It's usually in genres that you usually don't listen to that offer the biggest surprises. And that's certainly the case here with the German melodic black metal one-man project Unwesen, which I've never heard of before. That's about to change, because it tickles me in all the right places when the album Irrsinnfonie is cranked up.
It's heavy, it's evil, it's gloomy in just the right German way, and it's sung in German to complete the theme. Nine tracks with just over half an hour of playing time for full blast is what you get served here.
“Der Meister”, the man behind all the instruments and vocals in Unwesen, has previously released two albums under the name Unwesen, both with the same quality as here. Starting with “Hoch über Euch”, the album opens in the best melodic BM style, with gloomy guitar and fast bass drums. The title track Irrsinnfonie is nice and heavy, with an early Paradise Lost vibe over the guitar, it's probably the coolest track on the album. Kanonenfrost (Bumsmusik) and Kaffee und Kuchen bei Behemoth show that there's also a fine humor behind the project.
As mentioned, this is not my normal genre, but here I have to admit that it's actually pretty damn cool. Definitely something I need to listen to more."
And UNWESEN are aware of and execute it! 'Hoch über euch' is one of the latest songs the band unleashed on the world after their 2022 album “Das kalte Herz” (including a matching video clip).
It's not so much bone-chillingly cold as Marduk-esque brutal and devastating. It's not for nothing that the track begins with 'There's a war going on in my head', war!
The song itself then focuses on both fast and sustained drum attacks with infernal but clearly understandable screams and sharp and deadly riffing (including some melodic aspects).
The good thing about the track 'Hoch über euch' is that it is catchy and powerful at the same time. The head practically shakes itself. It has to be like that! Perhaps a tad too traditionalist in some places, but the last third in particular knows how to inspire with these dark and sinister guitars! Cool!”