Flipside #121
Setting Fire To Sinking Ships
Sweet baby jee-zus, this is good! Unruh deal out
pulverizing music that is a perfect blend of hardcore
and grind metal. Abrasive as all get out via vocals
and guitars while the rythm section just goes all out
with an intent to maim. The use of piano is an
excellent addition and effective at compounding the
dark tone of the music and outlook that comes through
in the lyrics. The artwork that graces the cover and
the inside is pretty good as well. You can't go wrong
with this one. -Matt Average
QUEBEC HARDCORE NEWS
"Raging and pissed-off hardcore that can't quite be
compared to any other band. They have the slow,
melodic parts, they have the tribal, neurotic jams, they
have the faster grind blasts, all intertwined in complex
arrangements. Hell yeah. I suggest you give this album
a try, if you're open minded I'm sure you'll find it quite
interesting and diverse. And yo, I'm backed on this one
by Benoit THE MADMAN Pepin, it's his album of the
year for 1999!"
Jeff X 2000
Punk Planet #35
Setting Fire To Sinking Ships
Unruh has created another gem. Taking everything we
love about death metal and playing it with hardcore
intensity, oh the riffs! Technical playing is only
the beginning; the recording is huge without gloss
tricks to cover any of the spite. Harsh vocals
spewing out words of desperation and lost hope. I
give Pessimiser much praise for putting this out.
Don't hold back on getting this. Starve if you need
to. (SY)
Ill Literature #18
Setting Fire To Sinking Ships
Damn! Being totally unfamiliar with Tempe, Arizona
based Unruh, I had no idea I was in for such a
ruthless beating. Slowly bringing the listener into
their house of horrors with a calm intro before
blasting you non stop with controlled chaos. This
quartet have got their act together as they explode on
track after track with virtual non stop whoop-ass.
Sure, many bands can come out heavy and brutal, but
that all sounds stale nowadays as we've all heard so
many monstrous combos dishing out tales of horror in
gurgled syncopation alongside detuned bar chords.
Setting Fire To Sinking Ships has a lot more thought
and intrigue involved here as their sadistic efforts
are as calculated as a serial killer and not like a
bunch of jerks living in a trailer who think serial
killers are cool. This band frightens me as they
explode with vindication, yet can temper it with
threatening calm moments on a couple of songs to allow
a breather so you can get yourself up before they
pummel you down once again. I like it!
Marco Barbieri
Unrestrained #10
Setting Fire To Sinking Ships
Eeeeyow! This cd is smoking up my boombox. All hail
to the powerful fireball of agression and anger all
rolled into one. Meshing a straightforward Death
Metal thrust with an abrasive hardcore edge and you've
got Unruh, a band that has a bizarre name, but a
massive message. This sucker could skin you alive.
With 16 going awol it's good to see Pessimiser putting
out a good, sturdy project.
A. Bromley 8.5 rating
Heartattack #24
Setting Fire to Sinking Ships
Once again Unruh rises from the grave to beat you with
their demonic metal influenced hardcore brutality.
The vocals are harsh and heavy and the lyrics are
anything but positive little ditties about life.
Bloody and unrelenting, Unruh carries on their savage
journey.(KM)
Short, Fast, and Loud! #5
Setting Fire to Sinking Ships
The only possible reason I can think of to 'set fire
to sinking ships" is to make sure that the destruction
was utter and complete. Hmmm...Now that I've said that
I realize this is a perfect theme for Unruh, a band
whose campaign for musical destruction is utterly
complete. Unruh concoct an aural tsunami that has at
its foundation extreme hardcore thrash but in no way
is limited to that. They also have learned the
lessons of musical mutilation a la the very best of
grindcore and they know the value of being heavy
enough to crush bone a la various forms of extreme
metal. They also know that sometimes the best way to
make a song really destructive is to infuse it with
contrast. They counterpoise their dominant whirlwind
of speed and frenzy with moments of dark (maybe
introspective?) melody that provide an almost
deceptive calm. It is not unlike flying into a
hurricane. For the most part, you are going to get
tossed around by powers too grand to oppose, but just
as soon as you think you are going to get pulverized
you break through into the eye of the storm. You
breathe a sigh of relief but you know you are far from
safe because the torrential power of the storm is all
around you and inevitably it is going to have at you
again and quite likely rip you apart. Needless to say,
(so of course I will), Unruh are a band for the
extreme music adventurer. The rest of you are too
wimpy to even dare. (JB)