UTOPIA

This album was released seven years before In a Flesh Aquarium, often hailed as one of the most innovative avant-garde metal albums ever made (not to mention it being ridiculously heavy). The music on Utopia is very much Unexpect; they sound significantly less mature than on their sophomore effort however. The blend of genres is here, from several types of metal to operatic and classical influences, but there are little to no avant-garde moments on here. I feel that Unexpect is at their best when they are wild and chaotic, and without these avant-garde moments Utopia feels fairly bland and dry. Actually, I usually have a hard time listening to this album all the way through, because many of the songs feel same-y and that always makes me drift off. I always find it annoying, given that good music never has a problem keeping my attention.

The one thing that bothers me the most about this album though is the production. It's very raw (and I like raw production quality sometimes), but it doesn't feel like it helps the music. In fact it hurts it a lot. It's also probably part of the reason why many of the songs sounds fairly similar to me. Even if you like In a Flesh Aquarium, you might not like this album. There should be just enough here to keep you occupied (at least for some of the time) if you are a fan of the band's second album though. I can't give any higher than 2 stars.

Share this UNEXPECT review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to horsewithteeth11
• Report this review (#239979)
• Buy UNEXPECT music online with PA partners
• Show all UNEXPECT MP3/Stream
• Go to UNEXPECT page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Utopia page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for UNEXPECT related discussions