I’ve always been a big fan of experimentation when it comes to blending different genres together as I firmly believe it leads to amazing new horizons for not only metal but music in general. Folk metal hasn’t been a thing that’s been tampered with outside blending with black metal, but I knew that if I searched enough I’d find a band pushing the boundaries of the style. Lo and beyond, I stumbled upon Unshine whose special concoction of folk metal isn’t only compelling but equally mystifying.

Straight from the very beginning, Unshine keeps things incredibly mythical as their special style brings together not only folk metal as the main act but elements of doom, black, and even post-metal to create an experience that’s not only unique but multi-faceted out the fucking ass. You’d think such a craft would be very difficult to deal with as you’ve a shit ton of different factors playing into these ten tracks from the speed of it all to the sound of the vocals to the magical backdrop of it all that ties together the themes and the instrumentation all sexy-like to allow “Astrala” to become a very welcome surprise for anyone wanting just a little bit more out of their folk metal. All the way to the end, Unshine doesn’t drop the ball a single bit with “Astrala” being the fluidity of it all, the astonishing musicianship, or the beautifully pristine vocals that narrate these epic tracks (except the intro) magnificently.

Folk metal can feel really stale at times be it because the band in question doesn’t know what they’re going for yet or they don’t know how to bring it together smoothly, but Unshine shows us with “Astrala” that there’s still territory ripe for investigation! I’ve always been meaning to get deeper into folk metal, and Unshine has given me an undoubtedly great find with this record.

LIKE Unshine on Facebook here.

FOLLOW Unshine on Twitter: @UnshineBand