Unearthly Trance

Hailing from Long Island and Brooklyn in New York, Unearthly Trance formed at the start of the millennium with a dedication to producing the heaviest possible blackened doom and sludge metal compositions. The trio quickly established themselves as central figures in the domestic doom metal underground after arriving in the early 2000s. Their first full-length effort, Season of Séance, Science of Silence, appeared in 2003 and already revealed an interest in modifying their occult-doom approach through the addition of ambient and drone textures on subsequent works such as Electrocution in 2008 and V in 2010. Operations ended in 2012, yet the group reassembled four years later to record the album Stalking the Ghost, issued in 2017.

Vocalist and guitarist Ryan Lipynsky joined forces with bassist Jay Newman and drummer Darren Verni to launch the project. Prior to the 2003 debut, the band issued two self-released recordings, Hadit and V.V.V.V. The punishing follow-up In the Red surfaced the next year. A contract with Relapse Records led to the 2006 release of their third studio album, The Trident. Electrocution broadened the palette by folding progressive and experimental metal influences into the existing framework, while 2010’s V balanced the raw force of earlier material with the more open-ended character of recent efforts. After extensive touring and recording, the members chose to disband in 2012. They reunited in 2015 to issue Ouroboros, a double album compiling previously vinyl-only early recordings. The experience prompted a return to the studio in 2016, resulting in Stalking the Ghost on Relapse. In 2018 the band collaborated with Denver-based blackened doom group Primitive Man on a split 7".