Entry 195 - Unreqvited - Mosaic I: L'Amor Et L'Ardeur

 

Major key and black metal is not something that goes together very often. Usually you end up with some kind of fringe music that is barely even metal, let alone black metal. Unreqvited is very much still within the metal realm, though wither or not this is black metal can be debated until the fall of man.

The thing with using a major key for most of the compositions is the music sounds happy. Happiness and extreme metal are usually diametrically opposed... this just does not compute.

Outside of the fact that I'm having a hard time accepting the joyful tone of the music, it also seems too perfect to me... too polished. The first three tracks are so sleek and clean its almost sickening. It comes across like a commercial movie soundtrack, everything is incredibly inoffensive and incredibly easy on the ears.

The movie soundtrack comparison is actually more apt than I initially thought after spending some time with the album. Outside of the last track, everything has this high fantasy vibe to it. A grand adventure of frolicking through fields with no care in the world.

The one strong contrast to the first four tracks is the thirteen minute closer. This song takes on a drastically darker tone than the rest of the album. It's also considerably heavier and distinctively violent in its riffing. It's a strong stand out and an excellent closer to the album.

Mosaic I has a specific vision in mind and it has gone to great lengths to get there. I'm not sure what I think of it, but that closing track sure has a lot going for it. This certainly is a unique sound and I will likely revisit the album in the future. For now though I think I've had a bit too much of sugary sweet metal for the day.