Unexpect

An eclectic, mixed bag of a metal band hailing from Montreal, Quebec, unexpecT (aka uneXpect or Unexpect) formed in 1996. While the band would go through an inordinate number of lineup changes over the years, the group has managed to keep pushing forward, expanding the boundaries of metal, fusing genres and styles that may not have met up otherwise. Three founding-era members, Syriak (vocals and guitar), Artagoth (vocals and guitar), and keyboardist Exod have been at the center of a whirlpool of musical activity, with members and instrumentations coming and going, including violins, double vocalists, and a nine-string bass. Their first release, the album Utopia, was released in 1999, and was critically well received. After an extended period of quiet from the collective, unexpecT returned in 2003 with a new direction and a new EP, entitled wE, Invaders, late that year. The positive response to the work was enough to get the band a solid deal with The End Records, home to a wide variety of metal and rock acts. In 2006, unexpecT — now with a relatively settled lineup, a septet — released album number two, In a Flesh Aquarium, and toured the United States and Canada, sharing stages with Augury, the Gathering, and Giant Squid.