Unarmed is a four-piece band from Portland, Oregon, comprised of current and former members of melodic hardcore bands, It Prevails, Cars Of Tomorrow and American Me.

It’s Like That is their debut EP and was released on 13/01/2023.

Taking inspiration from each members musical journey, the band explore the post-punk soundscapes and have come up with something a little bit special.

Combining post-punk with alternative rock and emo, this EP, consisting of four tracks with a combined length of 12 minutes and 46 seconds, is a full on, facemelter.

The guitars riffs are heavy, really giving you a kick in the stomach as they pound through the speakers and slight distortion gives the EP a punky, grungey feel.

The drumming is energetic and keeps pace of the tracks perfectly and the basslines are solid and thumping.

I love the vocals on this EP. Switching from dark, brooding vocals to a more typical emo style, the singer really can do it all and with layered backing vocals, the tracks have great depth.

The four tracks of the EP run perfectly into each other while also remaining defined from one another, meaning the listener is always engaged with the music. This is an EP that will have you tapping your foot one minute and banging your head the next! A real musical treat for the ear!

It is not easy to combine many genres into one and do it flawlessly, but these guys seemed to have done just that. They have blurred the lines between the genres and come up with their own sound, that is both nostalgic yet modern at the same time.

This was a great EP and I really do hope they expand on it and produce a full length album in the very near future. These guys really do rock!

This review is purely the property of The Metal Asylum