Conjurer – Unself (Review)

Conjurer are a hard band to classify. While the primary sound of these relatively young four-piece is deeply rooted in all things gloomy and sludgy, they were never shy to show off their Hardcore and Black Metal influences on previous releases. While their full-length debut Mire quickly turned heads with its monstrous and pounding grooves, heavy blast beats and captivating melodies it was 2022’s Pathos that really put these UK lads on the map and also gained them greater exposure through the NB network. Now with Unself the band returns with their infamous make or break album, leaving the question if their ascension may continue as rapidly as before.

The title track opening the record will surely provoke some head-scratching at first as it starts with a rather surprising and soothing acoustic guitars accompanied by campfire-clean vocals. But as the track slowly marches on you’ll start noticing the slowly building wall of feedback in the background that ultimately explodes into a cathartic outburst of noise that perfectly sets the tone for the albums first “real” track “All Apart“. And from this point on, it gets dark, it gets gloomy, heavy and invites the listener to a real tour-de-force. Within 6 minutes “All Apart” perfectly encapsulates Conjurer’s sonic spectrum as presented throughout the entire album. There are fairly atmospheric dreamy slow passages that initiate the song before it transforms into an onslaught of beating and often rhythm centered riffs, melodic lead counterpoints, screeching screams and guttural growls. The frequently implemented tempo changes always offer additional curveballs to retain attention. Whether it be off-kilter grooves or black metal inspired blast sections, the shifts always add another layer of dynamics to these songs. What’s different from previous releases is the increased use of clean vocals, which really add another emotional impact to the tracks.

While the album’s first three songs, up until short interlude “A Plea” hits, provide a more “traditional” Conjurer experience, the second half amplifies these softer elements and shifts the focus of the record. Where “The Searing Glow” for instance wears its devastating Converge influence on its sleeve, pre-released single Let Us Live and the penultimate one-two punch of “Foreclosure” and “This World Is Not My Home” (with reference to the records opener) put a much greater emphasis on melody, clean vocals and despair-filled atmosphere. That doesn’t mean these tracks are glossy pop-ballads though. Make no mistake. These intense songs still punch you in the gut with primitive but effective, often times dissonant chugs, breakdowns (not in a metalcore context!), blasts and vicious vocal interplay regularly. All of them being layered with several nuances that make each song their own different beast.

Although one really has to give the record time to really sink in because for unexperienced listeners Unself can quickly become overwhelming and exhausting. But those willing to invest the time this record demands, will find a captivating and satisfying listening experience with high replay value and emotional depth that few records convey these days. This is also achieved by the really rich and textured production as well as the thoughtfully constructed tracklist that really provides a nice overall flow throughout the record’s 44 minutes. Unself’s comprehensive structure cleverly alternates between super heavy sections and songs with milder atmospheric passages offering the listeners a possibility to take a short break before the next wall of sound hits them in the head (“Hang Them In Your Head” is as gnarly as its title suggests).

Unself is no record that’s easy to digest. It hurts. And it wants to hurt. It demands your attention and willingness to explore the different layers of agony, pain and existential dread while simultaneously providing a ray of light. Conjurer fully succeeded on their third record, blasting away all doubts that they would falter this time. Those who embrace Unself surely won’t forget it.