Unexpect

To fully understand the work of Quebec act unexpecT on this four-song MCD the best thing to do is to just play this loud. Let the barrage of ideas and sounds come at you with full force. You won’t be the same once it is over. And oh yeah, you might want to check any pacemakers at the door. With a truly schizophrenic sound-bonding together heavy keyboards, black metal, power metal, choir vocals, and razor-sharp riffs and an abundance of technical prowess- unexpecT doesn’t offer much of a reasoning behind all of this other than that they do it well and can get away with it. “ Rooted Shadows “ is truly a messed-up masterpiece if I ever heard one. So yeah, unexpecT is all over the map, but it’s a welcome change and one that will definitely catch many off guard.
-A. Bromley-
Issue 23 9/10
- unrestrained !

They must have been art-school graduates. That’s the only thought that comes back to me time and time again during unexpect’s _wE, Invaders. Only an art student would be willing to cross borders to the insatiate levels reached on this record; it’s clear that metal simply acts as a foundation for the influx of cultures, genres, and instrumentation Unexpect defies the listnener with. It’s a free thinkers universe here, where Ephel Duath and Mr.Bungle are the jocks and anything “normal” is the segregated outcast. If you listen with the linear in mind, this work feels uncomfortable. But, like experiencing My Bloody Valentine, once you let go…

-David Perri -
Issue 77 8.5/10
- Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles

Unexpect are finally back! I fell in love with the band when their first album 'Utopia' came out in 1999 and I was wondering what happened to the band. After a couple of line up changes, they are back stronger than ever! First of all, the production is way better than Utopia. The sound is crystal clear and you can clearly hear all the different elements from their music. Operatic female vocals, death metal growling & clean voice, big choir, amazing melodies that will stick to your hears for sure! They are blending so many different stuff and that blends just perfectly. Classical music, gothic feelings, medieval, black & death metal that create a unique atmosphere. This band can be so agresssive and brutal without interfering with the melodic aspect of their music. With this new EP, they pushed the boundaries for melodic death metal. Beautiful front cover & artwork that definitly fits their music perfectly, splendid lyrics with some dark fantasy tales and wierd exploration and powerfull melodic music....This CD is pure art! This band is constantly improving their writing skills and wrote a pure masterpiece. The only big problem is that this is an EP of 4 tracks and that's not enough....WE WANT MORE!!

90 %
- The Darkest Hours

What a fitting name. Hailing from Montreal, Quebec, this is one eclectic gathering of seven musicians that all have different musical tastes and backgrounds, with the sole purpose of creating interesting and, dare I say, unexpected music (the pun will get lost in the translation, I’m pretty sure). The most basic way to describe the music contained herein is Black Metal, but even after the first listen, it is apparent that is just the band’s basic foundation.

The music has elements of Folk (Middle Eastern and Greek), Classical, Gothic and Opera in addition to many different facets of Metal. Although a lot of bands have been influenced by various forms of non-Metal music, these guys have taken it to another level, where the influence not only bleeds into their Metal writing style, but makes them write, quite convincingly, parts that are Classical, Operatic, etc. All is also done in a tasteful manner, where the various sections are linked together in a natural way.

The one thing that also puts UNEXPECT in a category of its own is that the song writing is extremely unorthodox. Not only do all seven musicians play melodies that intertwine with each other, the song structures are very loose, with the music going wherever it wills to go. This coupled with the fact that all the instruments are playing different things at once, will make this a very hard listen at first, yet after repeated listens, you start to cue in on the subtleties in the composition and you realize how everything played fits in the general whole. “Novae”, the sample track, is perfect in showcasing the type of music that the band has to offer. The last track is an all piano instrumental, which is a very fitting way to end the album, because it is FAR mellower than the rest of the album and it just eases the end.

You know, my only real gripe with this album is that it’s just too short. Four songs, one of them being a piano only instrumental leaves me salivating for more, but I guess that’s what the band wanted to do. They’d better come out with something soon.

Approach this album with an open mind. It is very difficult to get into the music contained if you expect it to have ‘regular’ structures, but if you realize that these musicians have put their hearts and souls into this and wanted to create something that defies the confinements of Metal, then you will enjoy this much more. (Online October 1, 2004)

9/10 - Metal-Observer

UnexpecT - We, Invaders April 2004 | Released: 2004, Galy Records | Rating: 4.5/5 | Reviewer: Lord of the Wasteland I don’t even know how to explain the music of UnexpecT (yes, the capital T at the end is supposed to be there). Imagine a supergroup led by Cristina Scabbia and Shagrath on vocals, riffs by Jon Schaffer, the violinist from My Dying Bride playing in the background and Peter Criss on the drums…and they’re playing songs written for the Barnum & Bailey circus, Cradle of Filth and Nile. Yeah…that’s UnexpecT! This seven-piece band hails from Quebec, Canada and has one full-length release already, 1999’s UTOPIA. WE, INVADERS is an MCD teaser for the band’s forthcoming full-length due later this year. The songs here are a unique blend of many metal genres all rolled into one package. Black, melodic death, power, goth and prog are mixed with some classical, jazz, Middle Eastern and, as I wrote, circus music. The shrieking black metal vocals are mixed low as is the standard of the genre but the ethereal female vocals are right up front. Leilindel’s voice is powerful but not in the sense of, say, Tarja from Nightwish. She isn’t doing any sweeping arias here. Instead, her heavenly voice is closer to Cristina Scabbia’s or Liv Kristine’s, which offsets SyriaK’s shrieks and suits the music well. Creepy keyboard sections meander through the tracks, while the sound of a haunting violin is present, as well. “Rooted Shadows” features a section that combines Le bateleur’s haunting violin with Middle Eastern sounds that wouldn’t be uncommon on a Nile recording. “In Velvet Coffins We Slept” (a reworking of “In Velvet Coffins We Sleep” from UTOPIA) features an impressive classical acoustic guitar section and “Chromatic Chimera” is a weird instrumental piece led by ExoD’s keyboards. The songwriting style of UnexpecT can be a bit off-putting because it is so unorthodox with frequent time changes and bizarre breaks but calling them bold visionaries wouldn’t be an exaggeration. It will take more than one listen to really capture the essence of this CD, but at a mere 26 minutes, WE, INVADERS will leave you plenty of time to hit “REPEAT” on your player.

4.5/5 - Metal Rules