Unjust has been a mainstay in the San Francisco East Bay metal scene since 1999. They released their debut, Thin Line Emotions, on Dutch label Mascot Records, which gave them a core fan base throughout Europe and put them on the map with the local metal kids. With their sophomore release, Makeshift Grey, Unjust began dabbling in some other styles and tried to forge a sound of their own characterized by intricate melodies on a backdrop of gloomy metal. Following the underground success of their second album, Unjust added a new guitarist/songwriter to their roster and set out to write their next album, Glow, which is slated for release in March of 2004.
Glow seems to be the next logical step in the evolution of Unjust's sound. When the band first started they had a somewhat unoriginal Faith No More-esque style, but with time they have slowly begun adding more melody into their songs. On their last album, the melodic interludes were interesting, but seemed awkward and slightly out of place. With Glow, the songs flow very smoothly between the hard and heavy riffage and the soft and soothing melodies. The new album also shows Unjust shying away from the thundering rock songs and focusing more on the introspective ballads. This album was definitely made with mass appeal in mind. Just about every song on Glow could be a radio single. The vocals are powerful and capture the whole spectrum of human emotions; the guitars move easily from heavy distortion to clean melodic riffs; the drums are busy and interesting; there are vocal hooks in every song; and production is excellent. Unjust has the talent and the sound to break into the mainstream, and this writer wouldn't be too surprised if the future finds Unjust rockin' in the MTV world.
The downfall of Glow, as it is with so many other bands, is the lack of originality. Unjust's press releases hail the band for their original sound, but that isn't really accurate. Turn on your radio to your local rock station or throw a Deftones or Glassjaw cd into your stereo and you'll have a pretty good idea of what Unjust has to offer. If you are looking for something fresh and inventive, this is probably not the album for you. If you could care less about originality and just want something you can turn on for a good listen, you should probably give Glow a try.
2.5/4
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