| UNHOLY GHOST |
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| INFO |
YEAR FORMED: 2003
HOMETOWN: Tampa, FL
MEMBERS:
aul Ouellette (vocals/bass),
Jerry Mortellaro (guitar),
Kelly McLauchlin (guitar),
Aantar Lee Coates (drums)
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| BIOGRAPHY |
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Determined to create the most unrelenting, dynamic offering possible, seasoned extreme metal savages UNHOLY GHOST set out to annihilate anything that stood in their way of success. In a short amount of time, the quartet achieved this goal, proving to the world that they are a force to be reckoned with.
The Tampa-based quartet was formed in January of 2003 by drummer Aantar Lee Coates, bassist/vocalist Paul Ouellette, guitarist Jerry Mortellaro (all founding members of Diabolic) and Kelly McLauchlin, guitarist of Pessimist. The musicians in UNHOLY GHOST bring together an awesome display of talent and creativity, as the music is extreme and cutting-edge with catchy hooks firmly planted in the black/death metal vein.
The group self-financed their first demo, which they recorded and distributed themselves. The demo’s impressive impact in the underground scene resulted in UNHOLY GHOST securing slots at two major fests: Snakenet.com “Metal Nation” and the Las Vegas Metalfest. The recording also attracted the attention of Olympic Recordings, who quickly signed the band. The band soon entered the well-known Diet Of Worms Studio to record their debut album, Torrential Reign, with producer Juan “Punchy” Gonzalez (Morbid Angel) and emerged with a stellar result. This disc features 11 tracks of annihilating dual-guitar shredding and a flurry of maniacal blast-beat insanity, matched with a guttural vocal assault that will make the largest of men cower in fear. This is extreme metal at its most aggressive and devastating, something more recognized pioneers can benefit taking a few lessons from.
Although the music of UNHOLY GHOST at first seems to be easy to categorize, it quickly becomes clear that they create a dark and sinister atmosphere in their songs, doubtlessly something that most bands in this genre are regrettably lacking. That small but monumental difference lifts Torrential Reign high above the mass of faceless death metal bands. Most songs on the album are extremely fast, which was to be expected, but instead of straining the listener’s nerves with endless blastbeats, UNHOLY GHOST are varying the tempo, navigating the album to darker shores, even though one should note that drummer Aantar Lee Coates deserves his title “blastmaster” more than ever before.
On Torrential Reign, the dynamic Paul Ouelette pushes his vocal chords to their very limits. He simply stepped up his performance, making his voice more recognizable by adding more multi-faceted highs and lows and singing prominent passages with the necessary accentuation. The trademark of the album is the over-the-top musical abilities of guitar players Jerry Mortellaro and Kelly McLauchlin. Not only do they both deliver some of the fiercest death metal riffs, they also create the weirdest, sickest and yet most beautiful guitar harmonies that make this album so outstanding. Of course, one could say now that UNHOLY GHOST have not reinvented the wheel, but this is simply the kind of death metal that we all know and love, only a bit more innovative and simply better. This is much more than you can expect from such a young band.
Torrential Reign should quickly appeal to fans of bands such as Morbid Angel, Krisiun, Vital Remains, Nile or Cannibal Corpse, but it can also enthuse listeners of more melodic metal due the album’s complexity. The underground has already recognized the band's abilities, and now the rest of the scene has to be convinced. The prospect of success cannot be any better, as Torrential Reign drastically outperforms its competitors.
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