Review: “Unwell” by Liminal Spirit

“My goal with this record is to explore ideas that represent some of my greatest fears. Having worked in nursing homes, I’ve seen firsthand how miserable they can be. The thought of losing my faculties and facing spiritual judgment terrifies me – and that’s what I wanted to capture” ~ Jerry Hauppa

Mastered by Jeff Wojtysiak (High Gallows, Barren Heir, Eyeslit) at Spiral Sound Mastering, “Unwell” by Liminal Spirit follows the story of Phillip, an elderly dementia patient confined to a nursing home, haunted by the spirits of two children who claim he murdered them decades ago. A portrait painted by multi instrumentalist Jerry Hauppa in Progressive Doom Metal and avant-garde narrative techniques, the record plays out the deterioration of Phillip’s memory, culminating in death and spiritual judgment before he is cast into hell for all eternity. Known for his work with Deorbit, Hauppa performs the piece using guitar, microtonal guitar, bass, violin, synth, vocoder and drum programming having written, produced and mixed. They call it a genre defying sonic ritual meant to stir movement between spiritual realms…

As if to depict the patient slipping between states of consciousness while being admitted to a hospital, instrumental opening cut “Admittance” burns with dream like yet unsettling ambient melodies that disturb as they play out. Rich guitar sounds mix with distorted voices that swirl inaudibly in the background, the textures of the sound painting a picture in music that speaks a thousand words. The final notes, a fleeting moment of Jazz should provide warmth as a crooner sings “welcome to my world” but instead is sends a shiver down the spine, like subtle warning of the darkness to come. Title track “Unwell” then rises from the black depths, twisting and contorting with odd time signatures that blur the line between Progressive Doom Metal and something more avant-garde in nature. Somber and sobering, this dance macabre will leave you wondering if you’ve taken some mind bending drugs or if the men in white coats are waiting with a straight jacket to lead you to a padded cell for the remainder of your unnatural life. Such is the disturbing nature of off kilter melodies, laced with awkward polyrhythms and sparse percussion. Captivating, eerie and haunting it’s enough to set the teeth on edge and leave you gripping you pillow tight.

“Visiting Day” finds Hauppa experimenting with a vocoder to add another dimension to this musings, the otherworldly atmosphere giving the piece the air of a 1970’s science fiction horror movie soundscape. Whats a little weird about this one is that there are nuanced moments of warmth and richness in the dark melodies that make it feel a little less unsettling as if to offer up a false sense of security. The final third of the track becomes a little more sinister, clouding the once clear waters with the dark poison of intricate riffs and that violate the senses like a psychological thriller. That bleeds into the warped patterns of “EOLC” as the vocoder sounds float over the down turned rumblings of the microtonal guitars, ghost like sounds in the background playing tricks on the mind as they pop out of the mix over repeated listens. It would be almost impossible for a drummer of flesh and bone to play the patterns that have been programmed on this one, such is their sparse, volatile and unpredictable nature. By the time you reach the final quarter the guitar sounds out of tune and yet the riffs keep flowing like the plague winds that drag you down to the black depths. Spiraling with influences of drone doom “A Better Place” continues the narrative with greater conviction, a little more intensity helping the shroud of darkness cloak the protagonist. If someone is needed to write the soundtrack to the next Silent Hill incarnation then Hauppa has just submitted his curriculum vitae [7/10]

Track Listing

1. Admittance
2. Unwell
3. Visiting Day
4. EOLC
5. A Better Place

“Unwell” by Liminal Spirit is out 31st October 2025 and is available over at bandcamp