The Album

Album cover designed by Stacy Sunsleeper

Unicorn Blood, a six song EP by Josh Slunk, was released on August 1, 2020. As of writing this review, Josh has thirty EPs on his bandcamp page and twenty-nine of those came out in 2020. Talk about prolific! This incredible artist specializes in metal instrumental music, so this is going to be a unique EP to review! Let’s get to it.

The Tracks

Cloak of Invisibility is first on the EP. This has a classic metal style, complete with drums, electric bass, and a sense of urgency. While listening to this piece, I imagined donning the Invisibility Cloak and running through the Forbidden Forest, away from an unnamed monster.

I loved rocking out to the next song, which is the title of the EP: Unicorn Blood. It has an awesome beat paired with rhythmic strumming patterns on the electric bass. Halfway through the piece is an otherworldly instrumental solo on (I believe) electric guitar. I greatly enjoyed the musicality in this one.

DragonsBreath offers a stark musical contrast to what we have listened to so far. With a chill, laid-back vibe, we can sway along to the bird-like melody of the guitar and the smooth percussion in the background. I absolutely loved listening to this piece – it’s definitely something relaxing that I can put on while I’m working on a project or reading a good book.

We get back into heavier sounding metal in the next song, Sirius. I can imagine Sirius blasting this track in his room to annoy his mother. It’s angsty, loud, and demands presence. Even without words, this song has something to say.

He Who made me literally look down at my outfit and think, “I’m not wearing enough black leather to listen to this song right now.” If I ever need to feel like a boss wizard, I will put this on as inspiration. The sound reminds me of black coffee, motorcycles, and someone you definitely don’t want to mess around with.

We end the EP with Hagrids Hut, which is another chill track. It has echoing melodies that make me think of Hagrid warming a big pot of tea over the fireplace while telling you to help yourself to some homemade cookies. This is another must-add to my playlist of relaxing music to work or read to.

In Summary

It is amazing how much music can say without words. The instrumentals and emotion behind all six of these pieces really inspired me, and I very much enjoyed listening to this album. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I’m normally a metal fan, but I love Josh’s work. I definitely recommend giving this EP a listen even if you are also not a huge metal fan. You might be surprised by what you hear! I give this album an electric rating of 6/6!