Fish in a barrel

>> What can Montreal’s Unexpect
do to fuck you up?

SURPRISE, SURPRISE: Unexpect

by LATEEF MARTIN

So this is what is it sounds like to go completely insane. Montreal’s Unexpect earn their name with slices of metal that are shattered by operatic voices, split by samples, crushed by nine-string bass and riddled with machinegun kick drums. With their third album In the Flesh Aquarium, Unexpect fuse metal with jazz, electronica and everything else in between. The Mirror chatted with vocalist and lyricist Syriak as Unexpect prepped their metal machine to grind the wretched denizens of Wisconsin into liquid meat.

Mirror: Did Unexpect start out with a core sound, then branched out to different styles, or was sound the plan all along?

Syriak: When we started out in ’96, Unexpect was more of a thrash and melodic metal band. With the passing of time, influences and new members, our sound has been forging itself over the years. We never see music the same way.

M: Each song goes through three or four different genres in a matter of seconds. Do you get together and go, “Okay, this part will be jazz, and this part electronica…”

S: There’s always someone who comes in with most of the song, then we all put our energy into it. Usually, we don’t sit there and go, “Okay, what can we do to fuck them up?”

M: Was there a concept behind In the Flesh Aquarium? It has a narrative quality to it.

S: I never intended to link songs with each other. But finally, when I looked at the lyrical canvas, I realized they were all pretty much touching the human mind, a dialogue with the conscious, the subconscious and reason. In that way, it could be seen as conceptual.

M: Are day jobs still part of the equation, or are you now full-time employees of pure evil?

S: We all make sacrifices to do what we do. Most of the band lost their jobs. But it’s great, we’re touring and getting more and more exposure. We’re on the road for 42 days, back in Montreal for two weeks, then back on the road for most of the year. 2008 is going to be our tough year, but every band must go through that.

With Trail of Tears, Cellador and Echoes of Eternity at
Foufounes Électriques on wednesday, Jan. 23, 7 p.m., $20