Review
Unreal City
Ephemeral Subsistence

Double or Nothing (2008) Michael

Unreal City – Ephemeral Subsistence cover artwork
Unreal City – Ephemeral Subsistence — Double or Nothing, 2008

Cities like Boston, San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles get a lot of attention when it comes to hardcore. And it's not that it isn't deserved, they turn out a ton of quality bands. But there are other cities to keep tabs on as well... Pittsburgh is one of those cities and it has finally unleashed the debut full-length from Unreal City, an album that has been a long-time coming for followers of the group - those gritty demo recordings just weren't cutting it anymore. Thankfully Ephemeral Subsistence delivers to long-time listeners and will easily please those listening for the very first time.

Ephemeral Subsistence crushes you from the very beginning with "Coiled Destiny." A thundering rhythm section teams with dueling guitars and coarse-throated wail for the perfect introduction. The song quickly changes pace to a much more up-tempo approach during the mid-section before clocking out with a thundering breakdown to round the song off. "Slipping into Perversion" and "Fabricated" continue the assault further, accented by some spectacular guitar work. The former is a minute-and-half blast that pays the perfect homage to the band's most noticeable influences - the closely-knit Integrity and In Cold Blood. The latter takes a bit longer to unveil itself, taking the time to develop with darker and more intense riffing, and the occasional solo placed perfectly.

The album continues along with one great song after the next, mixing together brooding and cathartic hardcore with more up-tempo metal moments. Unreal City bring forth a revival of the 90's hardcore sound with perfection, even including instrumental introductions likes the piece in "War in Heaven."

But what Unreal City does best is shred and when they do, I don't think there is a better hardcore band at it. "Visions" is a devastating assault of chunky riffs and pummeling drum work. The breakdown is absolutely crushing and a fun affair for live shows. "Altus Proditio" absolutely slays as well. "Beyond Reality" is a fitting closer with a slight building momentum of guitar harmonies, eventually culminating with a tasteful guitar solo.

On the lyrical side of things, Unreal City has quite the dismal outlook on the world. The songs are filled with words of despair and apocalyptic visions of a world being torn apart by its own misdoings. One of my favorite sets of lines can be found in the song "In the Council of Demons" as follows:

I can feel them inside / Unspeakable torment / The nightmare begins / As long as my heart beats, I know / I'll be enslaved / The menace feeds on my soul / Now I pray for death to bring me salvation

Ephemeral Subsistence marks itself as one of the best debut albums I've heard in the past few years. It's a shame the album is only thirty-minutes long as I could probably listen to an hour-long album from these guys. If you at all enjoy the sounds of 90's metallic hardcore, then you owe it to yourself to listen to Unreal City, one of the best-kept secrets of hardcore.

9.0 / 10Michael • January 26, 2009

Unreal City – Ephemeral Subsistence cover artwork
Unreal City – Ephemeral Subsistence — Double or Nothing, 2008

Related features

Related news

Double Or Nothing Signs Unreal City

Posted in Labels on September 20, 2008

Unreal City Complete Recording / Post New Song

Posted in MP3s on October 6, 2007

Unreal City Post Song From 7"

Posted in MP3s on June 26, 2006

Recently-posted album reviews

Personality Cult

Dilated
Dirtnap (2025)

I had a hard time starting this review. I can’t help coming back to the fact that it sounds like Marked Men. It does, maybe intentionally so, as Dilated is the second of Personality Cult’s albums that is produced by Jeff Burke of Marked Men and Radioactivity. But I don’t necessarily like to say a band sounds like another band … Read more

Various Artists

Her Head's On Fire/Arms Like Roses - Split
Double Helix (2025)

Her Head’s On Fire (NY, NY) and Arms Like Roses (New Haven, CT) team up on this split 7” with two new tracks (one each band) of post-hardcore tunes that are both massive and melodic in their own distinct ways. "Universal" is the track from Her Head’s On Fire. Recorded by the band’s guitarist Jeff Dean, "Universal" came from the … Read more

Dead Bars

All Dead Bars Go To Heaven
Iodine (2025)

Dead Bars has a unique talent of taking the everyday, the experiences you see and live all the time, and shining a new light on them to make them personal and interesting. I've written about it before, yet it's my job to say this again and to make it interesting. It's what Dead Bars does, so it only seems fitting … Read more