Un – The Tomb of All Things Album Review + Full Stream

Despite being quite new to the funeral doom scene, Un appear to have an in-depth understanding of the genre and its subtleties. The release of two demos back in 2013 was the warm-up session in putting out their debut album, The Tomb of All Things, a fifty-minute journey through the slow, sorrowful tonalities of their music.

The pace of Un dominates this album, making this a torturous procedure. The start of “Sol Marasmus” and the title track specifically are moments when that mentality simply goes over the top, resulting in glacial parts where time has seized. However, there is a doom/death groove that comes forth in parts of “Sol Marasmus” and “Through The Luminous Dusk,” granting more movement to the parts. It is the drumming that signals such moments, giving more drive and momentum to the music, with both “Forgotten Path” and the title track being instances where this aspect comes into view, especially in the case of the title track, where Un completely embrace their death metal side in a more destructive outbreak.

Aside from the slow pace, the bread and butter of funeral doom bands is their heavy riffs, and Un definitely know how to maximize the effect of their distorted guitars. The feedback tails that flourish alongside the slow tempo, leaving distorted trails behind in “Sol Marasmus” and creating fuzz phantoms in “Forgotten Path,” further enhance this mystical essence. When coupled with the mournful leads that Un compliment their heavy structures with, the results are nothing but grand. The driven melancholy of “Forgotten Path” and the powerful, emotional quality of “Through the Luminous Dusk” find Un dwelling on their melodic side. However, there is a more dissonant aspect to this sound, with the twisted guitar parts of “Sol Marasmus” forcing Un closer to their death metal self, while the slithering approach the leads take in “Forgotten Path” reveal the lurking inharmonicity beneath the band’s facade.

Label: Black Bow Records

All this is topped with another necessary element of Un’s concept, none other than their strong ambiance. It is not only the intro of the album, “Epigraph,” where the mellow and oneiric aspects are brought into light. Throughout the album, mesmerizing moments of dreamlike quality blossom. The solitary guitar part in “Sol Marasmus” is such an instance, as is the more peaceful approach in “Through the Luminous Dusk,” with the clean guitars exploring the space as the drums and bass follow on. Through the ambiance, Un can enhance their heavier moments, as is the case with the start of “Forgotten Path,” giving more depth to the heavy riffs and leading to grand moments, as occurs in “Sol Marasmus.”

For a debut album, The Tomb of All Things is very nicely crafted, with Un revealing that they have a firm grasp on their funeral doom and how they go about exploring their sound. It would be nice to see a few more variations in the albums to come, but overall it is a great first step.

UN / HISSING WEST COAST TOUR

3/24 – Vancouver, BC
(event link to be updated)
3/25 – Seattle, WA
https://www.facebook.com/events/943639062351520/
3/28 – Sacramento, CA
https://www.facebook.com/events/742004862599250/
3/29 – Glendale, CA
https://www.facebook.com/events/220958151579869/
3/30 – Long Beach, CA
https://www.facebook.com/events/965598103517832/
3/31 – Oakland, CA
https://www.facebook.com/events/1639591529594782/
4/1 – Chico, CA
https://www.facebook.com/events/511660092339597/
4/2 – Portland, OR
https://www.facebook.com/events/452512961610887/
4/3 – Olympia, WA
(event link to be updated)