Shit Hardcore Kids Wish They Could Play: Episode 11

Disclaimer: if any of you are currently inebriated in any way shape or form, I strongly advise you to wait until you come down before watching this next video, because this is by far the trippiest band ever featured in this column.  If you haven't already heard of the Montreal, Quebec avant-garde sextet Unexpect, I think it's only fair to tell you that they may very well make your brain explode. You have been warned.

Though they're not as prone to noodling as many of their counterparts, Unexpect still write the book when it comes to experimentation. Utilizing everything from eerie violin melodies to slap bass to dark Gothic piano runs, and peppering it all with enough tempo and meter changes to make even the most seasoned prog enthusiast's head spin, it's a gross understatement to say that these guys have a sound all their own. They jump back and forth from jazzy to mellow to fast to just plain creepy like a schizophrenic frog, never staying in one set rhythm for too long. And as an added bonus, they're also one of very few bands to incorporate a female operatic singer and not have it sound cheesy and tired out. Seriously Nightwish, just shut the fuck up, it's getting old. Prepare to have your cerebrums turned to applesauce with the song "Desert Urbania", from their 2006 masterpiece In a Flesh Aquarium.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbSUEbG3OVE

Huh, so that's what an acid trip sounds like. And as if that weren't enough, it turns out Unexpect are also very good live, somehow managing to play their songs just as precise on stage as they do on CD. Don't believe me? Then check out this video of them playing that same song on what I can only assume is some sort of Canadian TV show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acrQGBYz_vg

Damn, this is just another reminder of how incompetent I am. Alright, I'm gonna cut it off here, because I'm actually listening to Unexpect while I'm writing this article, and it's starting to weird me out even though I'm completely sober (for now). That's how fucking crazy they are. Anywho, if you think you're up to it, In a Flesh Aquarium is available now, and they've supposedly been working on a new album for some time now, so I can only imagine what horrors they're preparing to unleash after half a decade of writing. Leave your comments below, and take care everyone, see y'all tomorrow.

-BK