We introduced Unangel to you last year, when they released a video for their excellent track Shard. The band are now back with a new EP entitled Drunk On Hate and it’s a good offering from the five-piece.
The EP opens with Unangel. Always a little sceptical about bands who name songs after themselves, I was a little unsure what to think of this song at first. It’s a good song, certainly, with some great guitar work, but there’s nothing about the song which gives it an extra spark, so it’s a shame that this track was chosen to perhaps be representative of the band as a whole, because later tracks of the EP give so much more.
A good example of this is Total Meltdown. Opening with some strong melodic guitar, the riff is really memorable and the way it continues as the vocals begin is a good touch because it’s like the two are being pitted against each other but at the same time complement each other perfectly. The half-sung, half-screamed vocals also work well, making the song a little more distinctive, and it’s rewarding to hear a vocal performance that doesn’t stick to one sole method.
The EP finishes with Black Lead Halo, which does a good job at closing things up. There’s some great noisy sections juxtaposed against slower, more melodic parts – the section with spoken vocals near the end that leads into possibly the most energetic point of the entire EP to finish things off is fantastic.
Drunk On Hate is a great EP. I don’t think the band reached their full potential with this release and still have a little more to give, but it’s a fantastic listen and Unangel have definitely got the ability to go very far in the music industry.
7/10
