intothewellsabyss

Jul 11, 20233 min read

Unholy — Gracefallen

Updated: Jul 11, 2023

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…

24 years ago, the “Wanderer” paused as the “Daybreak” halted the “Reek of the Night”!

On July 12th in 1999, UNHOLY released their fourth and final full-length studio album, “Gracefallen” via Avantgarde Music.

About Unholy:

Formed in 1988, Finland’s Unholy were among the first Death-Doom Metal bands from the region. Beginning under the moniker of Holy Hell in their early years, Unholy’s style began as a mix of Black Metal, Death Metal & Doom Metal, but progressed into more of an Atmospheric, Experimental Doom Metal sound. Unholy recorded 4 albums throughout their career before disbanding & leaving a legacy as a very influential & legendary act in the Finnish Doom Metal scene who are still highly respected today, alongside other classic Finnish acts such as Thergothon.

Background:

Following the release of "Rapture" (their third full-length), and only having three members in the band (as Ismo Toivonen had played all guitars and keyboards for the album), it was impossible for Unholy to tour.

Therefore, a post-rapturian euphoria did not last long before the band felt an immediate urge to write new music. By the end of May 1998 they had completed several new songs for a future release. During that time Veera Muhli, who was vocalist for one song of Rapture, had joined the group on a more permanent basis on keyboards, making Unholy a quartet once more.

In mid-July 1998 the band entered Astia Studio, an excellent recording studio in Lappeenranta, Finland. The recordings only took few weeks, and after the final mixing session in early September, “Gracefallen” was complete. The change of climate was good for the band, with the new material sounding quite unlike anything Unholy had done in the past.

With the release date for “Gracefallen” set for March 1999, Unholy began rehearsing for live shows, adding one more member to the line-up – Jade Vanhala – on rhythm guitar.

“Gracefallen” contains the trademark heavy, slow & often unusual arrangements and heavy guitar, but also integrates an increased amount of female vocal & keyboard parts to give a broader sense of dynamics & melody to the tracks, courtesy of Veera Muhli, giving added effect to the depressive & desolate feel of the songs.

Though "Gracefallen" was technically and musically the most solid Unholy album, at the time it sold the worst of all their albums. Maybe the extreme melancholy was too much for big audiences? At the same time, metal music was totally out of the mainstream, which affected the market, changing the “artistic quality” of some Metal bands. This made things difficult for small bands. Compounded with the limited marketing resources of Avantgarde Music, the band became frustrated. Dissatisfation for Avantgarde resources (for example; their inability to organize tours) lead Unholy to search for bigger label.

(Ismo Toivonen - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals)

In 2000, with interest from several labels, Unholy began negotiating with a well known American label, but a lack of communication and an extremely long period of time to get any contract, Unholy became fed up with everything, packed up their things and called it a day. The band officially split in the spring 2002.

(Pasi Äijö - Bass)

Recommended Tracks:

…Of Tragedy

Wanderer

Gone

Daybreak

(Jan Kuhanen - Drums)

Critical Reception:

One review for Metal-archives.com states;

“In essence, UNHOLY insert a pulse into the haunting ambience of Skepticism, adding more pronounced riffs and positively bouncy rhythms by comparison. But the drab, droning guitars, the seasoning of organ textures, the feeling that we are gradually but inevitably descending into a hole of blackness is very similar.”

While another review for SonicAbuse stated;

“While ‘from the shadows’ is a more violent piece, ‘gracefallen’ is the better, more rounded album. Both are excellent, although it would have been nice to see liner notes added to the packages detailing the making of each album, and as with all the current crop of Peaceville Records reissues the artwork has received a gentle tweaking so as to be presented with maximum impact. Ultimately, this is yet another must-have pairing from Peaceville and Doom fans will be as delighted by the harrowing atmosphere of the band’s first outing as they will by the eloquent beauty of their last. Presented, as ever, in super-jewel cases it would be grand if these editions had appeared on vinyl also but in the meantime here is a chance to discover two classics of the genre presented in a respectful and thoughtful way.”

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

▶ Listen to “Gracefallen” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/gracefallen/674027306

▶ Listen to “Gracefallen” via Spotify: Gracefallen https://open.spotify.com/album/4GektQqRAphg4gLZldEVdx

▶ Follow the Unholy fanpage on Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/UNHOLY-153682281352/

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells

Unholy — Gracefallen

About Unholy:

Background:

Recommended Tracks:

Critical Reception:

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

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