UNEARTHLY TRANCE · The Trident | CD

Jewelcase CD.

Background information about 'The Trident'

Unearthly Trance have never been a band that does things by half measures, and "The Trident" is the sonic equivalent of a sledgehammer to the skull — in the best possible way. Released in 2006 on Relapse Records, this album sees the New York trio channeling a suffocating blend of sludge, doom, and blackened hardcore that feels both ancient and violently alive. From the crushing opener "Permanent Ice" to the hypnotic sprawl of "Scarlet" and the monolithic closer "Where The Unbelievable Is Ordinary", every track is a ritual in slow-motion devastation. The production is thick and filthy, wrapping Ryan Lipynsky's guttural howls in layers of feedback and down-tuned riffage that could make a mountain tremble. There's a psychedelic undercurrent running through the record too — not the sunny kind, but the kind that feels like drowning in a tar pit while the sky turns purple. It's heavy, it's hypnotic, and it's utterly uncompromising.

The band's ability to shift between lumbering doom passages and bursts of violent hardcore is what makes "The Trident" such a gripping listen. Tracks like "Wake Up And Smell The Corpses" and "Firebrand" hit with a punk-infused fury before dissolving into atmospheres of pure dread. The rhythm section of Jay Reilly (bass) and John McGovern (drums) locks into grooves that feel like tectonic plates grinding together, while Lipynsky's guitar work weaves between crushing riffs and unsettling, melodic dissonance. This is not background music — this is the kind of record that demands your full attention, preferably at maximum volume in a dark room. A hidden gem from the mid-2000s underground that still sounds monstrously relevant today.

For fans of:
The Melvins, Khanate, Grief, Eyehategod, Electric Wizard

Track listing

1. Permanent Ice
2. Decrepitude
3. You Get What You Want
4. The Air Exits / The Sea Accepts Me
5. Scarlet
6. Wake Up And Smell The Corpses
7. Firebrand
8. Inself/Infinite
9. Where The Unbelievable Is Ordinary

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