RED HOT TRACK OF THE WEEK: UNEARTHLY RITES

Song

Ecdysis

Artist

Unearthly Rites

Unearthly Rites backstory

Recently signed to Prosthetic Records – who seem to love a bit of old school death metal at the moment – Finnish quintet Unearthly Rites emerged in 2020, and launched a self-titled EP at us the following year.

Ecdysis is the title track from the band’s forthcoming debut album, which was recorded at Black Floyds Analog Studio in Hämeenkyrö by drummer Tapio Lepistö between May and September 2022.

In vocalist Sisli Piisilä’s own words

“The title song came from a scene I walked by in the wilderness, a deer that had been ripped up in pieces by wolves. Its fur covered the ground everywhere, leaving only bare bones in sight as the carcass had already offered a feast for the animals of the forest. 

“Ecdysis is about disappointment with modern humanity, wishing to shed one’s skin to join something earthier instead.”

The verdict on Ecdysis

According to Piisilä, Unearthly Rites’ music is from “the filthy bunkers where old school death metal and DIY punk attitude shake hands”, and judging by the sound of Ecdysis, that’s a pretty accurate origin story. You could see this band pulverising basement venues across Europe, in a whirl of flailing dreads and cider.

Raging against ecocide and corporate greed, this tune sees Unearthly Rites blend their particularly Finnish take on OSDM with squat-spawned crust. It mutates from an infectious, mid-paced stomp to nightmarish, abyssal passages which bring to mind Autopsy and Bloodbath, and fills you with despair. And by Christ, it’s a heavy one, with a guitar tone seemingly dredged up from the Mariana Trench.  

Prosthetic may have unearthed something special here…

What’s next for Unearthly Rites?

Ecdysis will be released on May 3 via Prosthetic Records.