METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE

P R E S E N T S

Pariah - Unity

Release Information

Release Date.May-14-2012    Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new
Genre........Heavy Metal    Graber.......EAC
Year.........1997           Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br

Ripper.......Puncheta       Songs........10
Covers.......Yes            Url... n/a

Release Notes

Artist : Pariah                        Rating : You Decide!
Album  : Unity                         Label  : Aartee Music

Description :

After taking quite the hiatus, Pariah would
return in 1997 and release a third album in the
following year. Gone were Michael Jackson and
original drummer Sean Taylor, being replaced
here by Alan Hunter (of NWOBHM band Tysondog)
and Ian McCormack (ex-Satan, Battleaxe).
Hunter's vocals were cleaner, not a far cry from
Jackson's Grim Reaper-like tone on Blaze of
Obscurity, albeit a little less corny sounding.
The music certainly does not lack for the
aggression of the past, because the riffing
picks up right where that album left off...only
with a more modern sound that makes them even
crisper. There may be a slightly larger
influence from rock and progressive rock on
Unity, but it's not too distracting with the
exception of 1-2 tracks.

The title track is the first, and it's also one
of the best here...with Tippins and Ramsey
returning to their well-composed, busy technical
riffing, full of flighty little muted rhythms
and some nice, shimmery acoustic breaks, all of
which seem rock solid below Hunter's approach.
"Reactionary" is one of those more experimental
tunes...with some moody, mysterious rock breaks
that pick up into a pretty generic NWOBHM
rhythm, very Venom or Priest, but polished and
clean. "Walking Wounded" is passable, but has
some pretty dull groove rhythms to it, whereas
"No Exit" features great speed metal licks
beneath some atmospheric blues guitars and a
cool effect as the chorus is ringed out into the
stratosphere of the guitars. Also, nice leads on
this one. "Snakes & Ladders" has some guitar
masturbation for under a minute before the crisp
thrashing tone of "One of Us" bites it on the
leg. The riffs here are great, the vocals...not
so much.

'You try so hard but always fail
You might be something but to no avail
'Cos unless you're one of us
You'll never make the grade
And if you're one of us
You've got it made'

Well, alright then! As you can see, the lyrics
of Unity are mediocre at best...like so many
metal bands in the 90s, trying to appeal to the
emotional and downtrodden like most popular
music, but not in an interesting way. More like
horse shit. It stinks, and you don't want to
step in it, but you're not about to clean it up
off the street yourself. Speaking of shit, the
guitar work in "Saboteurs" is anything but,
featuring jet fueled guitar rhythms which keep
themselves busy as they meander below Hunter's
whims. "Mutual Street" opens with some plodding
bass and vocals, becoming another rocker with
lame lyrics and Hendrix-like riffs. "The Jonah"
is great, with some excellent speed picked
rhythms and great little melodies below the
bridge vocals. "Learning to Crawl" is a
classical acoustic guitar piece with some
vocals, to end the record. Not bad, though the
antiwar lyrics are a little corny.

Of their three albums, Unity took the most
risks...and because of that, paid the highest
price, as it is probably their least appreciated
album, even by the handful of old guards who
even acknowledge this band's existence. I feel
like there are 5-6 really great songs on this
album, on par with Blaze of Obscurity...but the
rest, like "Mutual Street" and "Walking Wounded"
are mediocre stabs at something the band is not,
and the calm, brief guitar pieces also belong
elsewhere. This was the 2nd curtain call for
Pariah. By the time it released, Skyclad was
already climbing in popularity and it is
unlikely the pages of this dusty old tome will
be re-opened again. But we are left with a
legacy of quality metal music, much of which
still sounds fresh and relevant (well, some of
the lyrics and vocals aside...)

Release Tracklist

01 - Unity                                      [04:01]
02 - Reactionary                                [06:05]
03 - Walking Wounded                            [06:31]
04 - No Exit                                    [03:58]
05 - Snakes & Ladders                           [00:49]
06 - One Of Us                                  [03:58]
07 - Saboteurs                                  [04:00]
08 - Mutual Street                              [03:44]
09 - The Jonah                                  [05:49]
10 - Learning To Crawl                          [02:11]

Total Length : [41:06 minn

Greetings To:

Too all people who contributes to make this
archive of good music in a exceptional conditions