Unsun is a female fronted Polish Gothic Metal act. The group formed back in 2006 under the name Unseen, which honestly sounds a lot better then Unsun, but that's a whole other argument. Clinic for Dolls makes for the band's second full-length effort to their debut release, The End of Life, which received mixed feelings from the press and listeners. Clinic for Dolls, unfortunately, will have that same impact. It's not a bad album, infact it shows off a lot of talent by the band on many tracks, but it's nothing that original either.
If you've heard one female fronted Gothic Rock or Metal act at this point, such as Lullacry or Within Temptation, then you've heard Unsun already. You can even find some Deadlock influence here, just minus the male vocals, mostly through the keyboard arrangements, such as the one that starts off "Home" which features an introduction, as well as musical attitude, of the track "Code of Honor". At this point, with a new band to follow this band formation pattern in such a saturated and repetitive market, you have to bring something to the table that makes you stand out, and having the vocalist be your wife while you play guitars for the group (the case of Aya and Mauser) doesn't really do anything. Sadly, Clinic for Dolls doesn't feature anything new, original, or fresh in any sense. However, what it does feature is some well done Gothic Metal, though it can become boring after a while, and starts off with a rocky start thanks to "The Lost Way", which is simply a generic song with a generic vocal performance that goes on for too long, as well as has a school bell and student walking introduction that just takes too long to stop.
Outside of "The Lost Way", you also have "A Single Touch", which is also just a boring track in general, coming off a little repetitive from the slower material available on this release already, riffs that are uninspired, and the vocals, while suiting to the music, just don't seem to have been performed with any real energy behind them. The last song here that just doesn't quite work is "Why". While the music for this song is very catchy, especially with the keyboards adding a whole other layer to the mix, it just doesn't work vocally, dragging down the chorus, and a bridge that happens later which sounds like two sets of voices talking simultaneously, and without any real energy, as if it's an anger-fueled moment that is nearly spoken instead of displaying that similar type of rage the music gives off.
Luckily, it's after "The Lost Way" that the album start to pick up, both vocally and musically. While the vocals on the album aren't really the most impressive out there, some track benefit greatly from Aya's voice. "Time" has a performance that finds her pushing a little more then on many tracks on this release, hitting somewhat higher notes that can actually become hypnotic, especially during the chorus, and are soft enough to put the listener into a slight trance. Musically, it's about what you would expect from any of today's Gothic Metal acts, though the guitar solo is well done and gives it a nice Rock edge to this track, which does come off more as a ballad then anything. This marks one of the few moving tracks on the release. "Clinic for Dolls" also makes for a good listen, as the music to this track is strong through the sound of the guitars themselves, sounding rather heavy thanks to the distortion, as well as some well suiting keyboards that seem to capture the whole concept of the song's lyrics, though vocally it really wasn't one of the most impressive. In fact, almost all the guitar solos for this release are impressive, and often sound very out of place, such as the solo during "Not Enough" which, at first, sounds as if it should be placed on a Thrash song instead of a release like this.
Of course, the more you listen to the album, the more the standard stereotypes of the style seem to slip through. "Not Enough" sounds good thanks to the guitars bringing in an almosty Egyptian-like sound to them, but the way they, as well as the vocals, are performed, just makes an unmistakable Lullacry reference, though the chorus winds up bringing in a slightly unique vocal approach is a lot lighter, slower, softer, and manages to become beautiful, perfectly matching what one would expect from the style's name, and not the stereotypes of the style. The beauty of the chorus from that track carries over into "The Last Tear", a keyboard oriented ballad with the most powerful vocal performance off the album. The problem is that the voice is just not strong enough to make a truly emotional ride. While the vocals are nice, and the higher, more powerful notes are hit nicely, there's just not enough passion presented and just sounds generic overall due to that. "I Ceased" is another song on here that is a fun listen, and is very catchy, especially with the chorus thanks to how the vocals are performed, the heavily melodic music, and the perfectly matched in speed keyboards that just really add to it, and yet another fantastic guitar solo that, once again, is completely out of place but just sounds so good added on it. Of course, the song generally suffer from a generic sound outside that chorus and solo, and also has a slowed down section immediately after the solo that just doesn't really work out in the end and sounds ok, but could have easily been omitted to better the flow of the music.
In the end, Clinic for Dolls is more of a rollercoaster then anything, full of ups and downs. There's some real catchy tracks on here that give a good reason to pick this album up, but outside these tracks lie plenty of songs that stand out for one reason or another, but mostly due to the fact that it's just the common Gothic Metal sound we've all come to expect, but performed well. The guitar solos that appear here, however...well...what can someone say? These are perhaps the single most impressive aspects of the album, often very out of place but come off like crack for these songs, being one of the elements that makes this CD enjoyable, even if they belong more on a heavier, faster style of music's release, such as Thrash or even Melodic Death Metal, then on this album. With only a few tracks that, in the long run, just flat out suck, Clinic for Dolls makes for an interesting listen, just don't go in expecting anything fresh or much of the experience will be ruined for you.
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