Unearthly Trance is a sludge / doom metal trio from Long Island, New York, composed of guitarist-vocalist Ryan Lipynsky, bassist Jay Newman, and drummer Darren Verni. They were formed in 2000 and have released material on leading labels of the genre like Southern Lord, Rise Above Records and Relapse Records. They are considered by critics one of the leading acts in the doom metal scene and have been touring constantly since their foundation, having shared tours with notable bands such as Sunn O))), Pelican, Electric Wizard and Morbid Angel. Their fifth and final album album, V, was released by Relapse Records on September 27th, 2011, and was produced by Sanford Parker, leader of fellow Relapse label mates and post-metal experimentalists Minsk. Ryan Lipynsky also fronts the black metal act The Howling Wind and experimental hardcore unit Pollution. All three members currently play in Serpentine Path with Tim Bagshaw, formerly of Electric Wizard and Ramesses. Although categorised as doom metal, Unearthly Trance's music draws inspiration from other forms of extreme music, such as black metal, death metal, crust punk and drone music. Their songs are usually quite long, past the five minute mark and build slowly and oppressively with pounding drums and slow, loud and distorted guitars and bass buried under thick layers of feedback. The vocals are usually very harsh under the form of distorted screams, and the lyrics usually deal with themes of the occult. Unearthly Trance also ventures into more experimental sounds from time to time like ambient and noise music, giving their music a more introspective, dark and progressive vibe. Unearthly Trance broke up on July 6th, 2012. The band reunited in 2015.
