Dutch band Unnerve offer up a vicious concoction of metalcore, deathcore, nu-metal and grunge as aggressive vocals and relentlessly heavy riffs form a sound they describe as “groovy, chaotic and cathartic.”
The band began in 2020 as a solo project by vocalist and guitarist Dennis den Ouden during the Covid pandemic. When the restrictions were lifted, he began looking to form a full band around the songs he’d written and, in 2023, completed the lineup with Steffan Kerstjens (guitar), Sander de Wit (bass) and Joost Lammers (drums), who all knew each other from local bands. They played their first gig within a few months, swiftly released their debut EP turmoil and dropped the follow-up EP Prosperity last month.
On the sound they’ve crafted, Dennis explained: “The low-tuned groove and aggression of nu-metal and deathcore/hardcore mixed with the chaotic and technical nature of mathcore and djent/progressive metal with 90s grunge/noise rock elements.”
From the new EP, the band sent us the opening track Loveless, which opens up with wild flitting guitars and intense driving drums. Dennis’ intense vocals come in over the top and feed into a chorus of clean vocals “No one to break your fall, you deserve to be all alone, Empathy is a flaw when love is something you’ve never know.” It quickly jumps back into a vicious verse that ends with vicious stabs of guitar over intense screams, flowing into another chorus.
That gives way to another blast of intense vocals “You’re loveless, You never gave a shit about anyone else but yourself, You are heartless, You only care about your goddamn self, Fuck everyone else” that end with a barrage of intense screams. A quick heavy verse gives way to a final chorus, before big drawn-out vocals tee up a vicious blast of vocals to bring the track to a conclusion.
On the track, Dennis told us: “The reception to the single has been great! We have some great feedback so far. We also released a music video for the song that was DIY made by Steffan, which also had a very positive reception.
“For anyone who hasn’t listened yet, it’s an aggressive and fast-paced song with pummeling drums alternating from blasts to tight grooves that will make your head nod. The riffs are intense and aggressive, but structured and descend into a surprisingly catchy chorus. This song is mostly screamed, adding to the lyrics that deal with issues of modern-day capitalism and corporate greed, with clean vocals in the chorus.”
The Prosperity EP has plenty more where that came from, including the intense No Longer Human, which features the lines “You’re no longer a person, you no longer suffice, You’re no longer yourself, that part already died, You’re no longer a human in their eyes, You are merely meat.”
That’s followed by title track Prosperity, which opens up with shoegazey guitars before dropping into heavy vocals over low-tuned stabbing guitars and flowing into a mellow chorus. A cool groovy riff takes over alongside intense vocals, before the track comes to a vicious conclusion. And the EP wraps up with Parallax, which begins with vicious stabbing guitars over a creepy high-pitched synth sound. Clean but intense vocals join in, and the instruments intensify led by a high-pitched synth before a surprisingly catchy chorus that leads into a shoegazey/grungey section. Check it out in the video below.
“We had two separate release parties the same weekend the EP was released, which were both very cool shows,” Dennis told us. Prosperity is an 18-minute, four-and-a-half-track EP, subtly diving into different styles from song to song while still maintaining our sound.
“It starts off explosive and fast with Loveless. Tracks two and three are a bit more laid back and groovy while track four serves as an intro for the closer track Parallax, which is a unique song going more into djent style like Meshuggah, with primarily clean vocals. Lyrically, Prosperity is themed around wealth inequality, and how certain billionaires, politicians and corporations maintain the status quo.”
The Unnerve sound has been influenced by artists across a wide range of genres. Their key influences include progressive metal and mathcore bands like Car Bomb, Converge, Meshuggah, Botch, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Between The Buried and Me and Mr. Bungle. But they also take inspiration from the likes of Korn, Deftones, Slipknot, Sepultura, Nirvana, The Acacia Strain, Emmure and Knocked Loose.
And on what inspires them to write music, Dennis told us: “I write about things I see happening around the world, but write about very personal things too, like mental health issues. I also sometimes take inspiration from movies and games and random things that occur in life. We have written songs about environmental issues, but also about mental health issues and addiction.
“Prosperity is very politically themed compared to the rest of our work. We definitely don’t shy away from it, but it has never been, and will never be our main lyrical focus.”
Unnerve currently have a few shows planned in the Netherlands to support the new EP. They’re also writing new music for a future release, and already have new songs good to go, so they may well be back in the studio shortly.
And Dennis added: “Everything the band has done so far has been done in a DIY fashion. From the recording, producing and releasing of all music, self-produced music videos and handmade merchandise. All music is recorded, mixed and mastered by me, with the help of longtime friend and collaborator Brady van de Ruit.”
You can follow Unnerve on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube.
Listen to Unnerve and more new bands on our Spotify playlists GigRadar Core and GigRadar Metal
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