Unnilhexium is kind of creepy. The music in the debut album here is masterfully crafted, interestingly composed, and hauntingly creepy. This was undoubtedly intentional. Unnilhexium merges cosmic space with entrancing horror for an LP that is as sensational as it is sort of scary.
Reigning from Poland, Unnilhexium harnesses some truly new sounds. No single aspect is entirely original (which is never the case).
‘Retrospection I’ implements a weird almost classic alien abduction sound, as if straight out of a B-graded UFO film. The album’s final song tackles carnival noises, odyssey-weirdness, and a ticking drum track that keeps the listener grounded. At least until the chimes hit, and you may just be lost in the echo and sound.
Underlying the cosmic appeal is a dance back beat and catchiness that keeps your attention if you tend to prefer the more dance-oriented numbers. So it ends up playing both sides of the coin without alienating either preference.
The frightening element comes from the tension. Tension is impossibly difficult to achieve in music, but Unnilhexium keeps the listener on their toes. Following an intense dance melody, the music may detour into mayhem, only to return to the main drive of the song. Retrospection III is in-arguably haunting in its “up and down” feel, as if the listener is sitting upon a crazed horror ride. The songs are never polarizing and unapproachable. Driving every song is a slight sense of direction. This does not mean you may go careening into a wall, but you will rebound and continue the adventure anyway- because you truly want to. ‘Retrocomputer’ is a borderline video game chip-tune, taking a break from the spacey progressive epics that drive the core of the album (what I like to call the Retrospection trilogy).
After listening to the full LP on its second time through, I still managed to be surprised by how many “things” Unnilhexium tried to engross the listener. It is a tour-de-force adventure through cosmic synergy, dance-disco harmonizing, and electronically-infused back beats.
Tracklist: 42:00
Cosmic Retrospections
Retrospection I
Retrospection II
Retrospection III
Retrocomputer
Cosmic Retrospections: The End
