On the sleeve of the promo CD it said that Alastis was one of the few bands that played true dark metal. That certainly sounded very promising. Full of curiosity I placed the CD in my stereo and… was a bit positively surprised! The new record of the Swiss band, called "Unity" is one of dark, symphonic and melodic music combined with a very dry grunt. Overall the record sounds like the band finally has found some stability. Ever since the beginning of the band back in 1987 there were line-up changes. In the very beginning even Masmiseim (Samael`s bass player) was a member of Alastis. Perhaps, because of this, Alastis were compared to Samael as well as early Tiamat. Until now, the band has released two demo`s ("Fatidical Date" and "Black Wedding") and four records ("The Just Law", ".

..and Death smiled", "The other side" and "Revenge"). After the release of "The other side" Alastis toured with Anathema and Theatre of Tragedy. The current line-up is about the sixth the band plays in. It consists of War D. (guitar, vocals and the only one still remaining founder of the band), Nick (guitar), Raff (bass), Sebastian (drums) and Graven X (keyboards). The result of their combined effort is an album that definitely can be called Dark Metal. Musically "Unity" is well arranged; the midi-paced parts of the songs are succeeded by slow, melodic intervals. A perfect example of this is the truly magnificent "The Sign", the third number on the CD. But actually, the entire CD is worth the listening. But you`ll have to be in a dark and doomy mood to enjoy it to the fullest…