A striking and bold talent
At the tender age of 22, Martin Grech is indubitably one of the most striking and bold talents the UK rock and industrial scene has currently, although I would shy away from using the term prodigy, at times whilst listening to his latest release 'Unholy' I almost came close to doing so.
Mixing both slow pieces such as in 'Venus' and dark industrial-based numbers such as in the leadoff single 'Guiltless', Martin Grech presents his talents for all to see, often masterfully mixing both mood and style within the same song. Mixing his vocals between a teetering and emotionally bruised falsetto and dark threatening whispers, Grech displays enough talent and variety to constantly entertain. The standard of the songs is consistently high and it would be hard to pin point any particular track and give it the label of "weak".
Following a self-imposed trinity of strands, the album is based around the concepts of "Holy", "Sensual" and "Debauched". Whilst with most people releasing what is only their second record this would seem self indulgent and even arrogant, Grech manages to pull it off deftly with his passionate stylings and dark lyrics. This concept does feel a bit loose at times however and often when listening I wondered why there was no effort to perhaps pull this triumvirate of ideas together into a fully fledged concept. Inspired partly by the art of H. R. Giger (of "Alien" fame) and the photography of Joel Peter Witkin this is hardly a light summer record so if you don't like your lyrics dark, broody and introspective you would be advised to steer well clear of 'Unholy'.
The only real criticism of any substance that can be levelled at this album is that it at times becomes too moody, too brooding and too slow. A few more tracks of a faster tempo in the vein of 'Guiltless' or 'I Am Chromosome' would have been more than welcome. It could even be said that the album works best as a series of individual tracks to listen to separately rather than as a complete work, as listening to several slow mournful ballads in a row can become tiring.
Overall 'Unholy' is an undoubtedly strong second release and considering his still youthful age, we can hope that Martin Grech will improve and learn from this record and continue putting out such enjoyable songs. For anyone with an interest in music with a dark and brooding angle this is undeniably an essential purchase.