Dead Blue Sky
Symptoms of an Unwanted Emotion

Release Date: 2001 | Tracklist

There’s something about that raw and chaotic sound of 2000s metalcore. The production on most albums from that era has a noise component to it. Not to say that the albums have anything in common with the actual noise genre but you can hear the unfiltered heaviness blasting through your speakers so loud that someone not familiar would say “that's just a bunch of noise�. An angry old neighbor type of person. This particular album has struck a major chord with me personally because it takes that filthy 2000s metalcore sound and mixes it with an equally raw black metal influence that takes it over the top. Dead Blue Sky didn’t stick around for long…but they managed to release what is my favorite metalcore album of all time Symptoms of an Unwanted Emotion.

As I mentioned in the beginning of the review, the production is the star of the show here. You might think that it sounds bad and the untrained ear would DEFINITELY think that, but it is absolutely perfect for this kind of album. It's loud and disgusting and noisy and 100% sounds like a mess but that's the charm of it all. Metalcore means “metallic hardcoreâ€� and metallic is exactly how it sounds. The riffage here is heavily inspired by early 90s melodic black metal such as Dissection and Sacramentum. Mix that with the well timed breakdowns and shrieks from the pits of hell and you already have a success.Â*

Another main component that takes this albums over the top even more is the influence of 90s gothic metal such as Tristania and Cradle of Filth. There’s a female vocal performance on this album that ranks near the top of the best I’ve ever heard on a metal album. They’re well placed, they never intrude on the harsh vocals and, most importantly, they fit what this album is doing to a tee. The ghoulish atmosphere and the female vocals just mesh so well that it's hard to NOT count that as a positive.

Symptoms of an Unwanted Emotion is simply a masterpiece not only in the metalcore genre but also in the melodic black and gothic metal genres as well. The influences are seamlessly blended to create an atmosphere that makes you feel like you’re alone in a pitch black cemetery surrounded by the dead and with nothing to do but sit with your own thoughts. It may be an unwanted emotion but Dead Blue Sky hit all the right emotions with this one. It really is a shame that this was the only full length they ever put out but I’ll be damned if they didn’t come in and also go out with a massive bang.

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3.9 excellent

Rank: #0 for 2001