EP Review: Reflections

Do you love loud riffs, and metal vocals but with melody and heart?

Cool, me too.

Unwanted Subject hail from Auckland and they’re awesome.

Oh, and they have a new EP out – Reflections – which is also awesome.

But first, some background. They came together in 2021, when Auckland kept becoming the proverbial “cooties kid” and everyone else had to be sent home. The restrictions weren’t fun, but Unwanted Subject’s self-titled debut EP was. Fast forward to 2026, and they’re back at it.

I need to ask, when is the album coming out?

No, really.

Four tracks aren’t nearly long enough in any EP, let alone those that completely desecrate your soul. Assaulting riffs, check, face-melting solos, check, melodic, yet brutal vocals, check. Oh, and tight musicianship? Check too.

Jumping straight into the first track, Dying Mind, it’s a bit of a banger. And if you’re the slightest bit offended by explicit language, well… I can’t help you there. But seriously, this is a great track, and vocalist Gerrit Nel has some impressive vocal chops going on. Guttural vocals like this don’t just grow on trees.

Moving on, Reflections has a killer opening riff, with the first verse giving a generous helping of Trivium and Chimaira. Very cool, very unapologetic. And those outro keyboard notes? Nice!

Love Song of Nero is a cool title, and another cool song. It sweeps and soars, keeping an even tempo while casually assaulting you with this relentless driving riff throughout. It has some solid death metal blast beats but also black metal ambience, almost like Dimmu Borgir just popped in for a cup of tea.

And while I’m here, it would be rude to not talk about their latest single, and first track of the EP, Between The Devil and The Black Sea. It’s devastating – devastatingly epic that is.

The riffs are seamless and tight. The tempo is impressive, with a great flow and plenty of melody. I half expected it, but that was a nice rest before what comes next. The vocals? Excuse me while I go lie down for a moment to recover from that. That was cool, Gerrit and Bran.

But this EP wouldn’t be all that without tipping the hat to some serious solid musicianship, and that’s what makes it stand out. I love EPs in all their forms because sometimes you get some slivers of gold, but Reflections is like finding a huge goldmine. Mixed and produced so cleanly, you could eat off it, all without losing its shine. It’s a great piece of art that deserves to be hung on the wall, and Unwanted Subject should be proud.