Review: “The Unholy One” by Kill The Idealist

Recording can be a long process, as can the whole waiting around for mixing and mastering. July 2019 was when Newark, Ohio’s Kill The Idealist started tracking the drums for their debut offering to the Metal Gods “The Unholy One“. Eight months down the line and March 2020 finally saw the Melodic Death Metal act able to let the fans hear what they’d been up to. Before anyone says that ain’t a long wait, we’ve got a short attention span. Steve Orr (Lead Guitar, Vocals, Bass, Keyboards), Brad Brown (Guitars), Josh Raftery (Drums) comprise the band officially with a mystery bassist appearing on their promo shots while they have Brian Jones of Bareknuckle Redemption and formerly  Bless The Child making an all important guest appearance…

…setting the seen with some old school videogame style synths and stormy weather sounds “Prelude To Tragedy” breaks from the mold with some slick Death Metal riffs mean that if you had a doubt that this was going to sound primative (see cover art) then you are sorely mistaken. Those riffs with hints at Technical Death Metal and the soaring leads of the finer end of Metalcore rip through like a hurricane into “The Demise of Augustine“, which gives Orr a chance to show off some vocal dexterity. The solos are technical and up there with the finest the likes of Obscura have to offer, while the skull splitting kit work has some Black Metal stylings that you might not expect. They’re rampant during the opening of the title track with full on blast beat fury being the order of the day. “The Unholy One” is a calling to a beast from the darkness to come forth and destroy everything in its path, the Serpent of Doom being it’s name. Sharp technical solos and bright melodic leads are smashed to pieces by Orr’s gloriously demonic vocals, low and rumbling like a bear on the war path and this title track is forged in steel.

Melody returns for an longer introduction on “Years of Silence“, a song with a beautiful rise and fall flow as Orr tells the story in the lyrics. If this cut had a clean sung vocals on it, perhaps some of its Power Metal underbelly would be more exposed. The final solo is face melting affair that DragonForce would be proud of and by the end Kill The Idealist have proven that they can turn their hand to other styles to achieve what they wish. “Echoes” is the punch in the face of the record with Brian Jones presence bringing out the best in the other musicians, a track with a whirlwind of riffs and pummelling rhythms that is ideal headbanging material. You may find yourself singing along to Jones as he roars “Burn down their Worlds” from the first spin of the track, it has that instant quality about it. “Leviathan” returns to some more of the Black Metal leanings in the first half with a melodic, Meloncholy ache to a mid song passage that builds back up to blast beats and whammy bar moments as the band ascends to a higher plane. There are actually some clean vocals in this one, buried underneath Orr’s throat ripping brutality, but they’re a subtle part of the great tapestry [7/10]

Track listing

1. Prelude To Tragedy
2. The Demise of Augustine
3. The Unholy One
4. Years of Silence
5. Echoes (ft. Brian Jones of Bareknuckle Redemption, ex-Bless The Child)
6. Leviathan

“The Unholy One” by Kill The Idealist is out now and available over at bandcamp