UNEXPECT — In a Flesh Aquarium (review)

UNEXPECT — In a Flesh Aquarium album cover

Album · 2006 · Avant-garde Metal

4/5 · 2022-05-29
UMUR

"In a Flesh Aquarium" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Canadian avant garde/progressive metal act Unexpect. The album was released through The End Records in August 2006. It´s the successor to "Utopia" from 1999, although the two full-length studio albums are bridged by the 2003 "We, Invaders" EP.

Stylistically "In a Flesh Aquarium" is female mezzo-soprano- and growling/screaming male vocals led avant garde extreme metal, featuring constant tempo and time signature changes, and the omnipresent use of violin and piano/keyboards in addition to drums, guitars, and bass. The vocal part of the music is quite varied featuring many different extreme metal vocal styles, and female lead vocalist Roxanne "Leïlindel" Hegyesy delivering a theatrical and very convincing performance.

The material features many twists and turns and the tracks often come off almost schizophrenic in nature. The tracks are complex in structure and just when you think you got a hold of where a song is going it unexpectedly changes. The music is very extreme, often dissonant, and is at times an eerie and unpleasant listen. At all times there is a claustrophobic feeling of barely controlled chaos, but Unexpect are an incredibly well playing and skilled seven piece group, who pull off every twist and turn of the music with what seems like ease.

"In a Flesh Aquarium" reeks freak show/dark carnival atmosphere and there are elements from classical chamber music and cabaret too, but the music also features plenty of heavy and fast technical death/thrash guitar riffing and intense drumming (and some pretty crazy slap bass playing), so while this is a very progressive and avant garde tinged metal album it´s first and foremost an extreme metal album. Some of the more "regular" riffs and drum parts could well have been featured on a technical death metal release.

The album feels like it´s divided into two parts, which are bridged by the electronic/symphonic track centerpiece track "Silence_011010701", which serves as an atmospheric breather and a compositional variation, before the second part of the album takes off. The first four tracks are intense and challenging progressive/avant garde extreme metal songs and after "Silence_011010701" is over the second part of the album opens with the sixth track "Megalomaniac Trees" and then into the three part suite "The Shiver". The album closes with the 11:10 minutes long "Psychic Jugglers". It´s a harsh one hour long album, which will probably challenge most listeners and keep them on their toes throughout its playing time and it´s pretty surely an aquired taste if this kind of bombastic, intense, manic, and theatrical album is something you can sit through and enjoy. It requires an open mind and the will to be exposed to the unexpected.

While the band´s preceding releases lacked professional production values, that´s not a problem on "In a Flesh Aquarium", which feautures a powerful, detailed, and intense sounding production job, which perfectly suits the energetic and busy compositions. Upon conclusion "In a Flesh Aquarium" is a high quality avant garde extreme metal release, and even if you are not able to enjoy the manic one hour journey, it´s hard to argue that this is not through and through a bold statement and a high quality release. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.