Every year, there seem to be a handful of records that get the over-the-top treatment in the months leading up to its release that it sometimes can seem a bit much. But that’s the game, isn’t it? Drum up tons of social media chatter, ads all over whatever site you visit, and in the case of being a member of press, email campaigns that feel like constant pokes in the ribs.
Rochester, NY, death metal manglers Undeath have been that band that’s seemingly on the tip of everyone’s tongues (and fingertips) mostly based on the surprising success of debut “Lesions of a Different Kind,” a record that could have been swallowed up by the pandemic but instead outkicked its coverage in a good way. It certainly helped that the record is a killer, a master class of classic death metal, and that is why so many people have been frothing at the mouth for their follow-up effort “It’s Time … To Rise From the Grave.” And here’s the thing: Once again the band deserves all the fervor because this 10-track album is the real deal, a blazing beast that brings blood, violence, and chaos into a package that could strike the heart of any death metal fan of any age. The band—vocalist Alexander Jones, guitarists Kyle Beam and Jared Welch, bassist Tommy Wall, drummer Matt Browning—blasts back with a record full of memorable moments, bloody melodies, and outright devastation that’s anything but empty calories. This is a full-on feast that’ll leave you swollen and satisfied. And really sore.
“Fiend for Corpses” rips off the lid with the bass snarling and the band openly mauling you, the leads encircling and flattening. Guttural fury goes off, the chorus curdles, and everything comes to a punishing end as we head into “Defiled Again.” The drums unload as the guitars chug mercilessly, beastly growls open new wounds, and the playing just scorches, trudging and taking off reams of flesh. “Rise From the Grave” has great riffs and a galloping pace, blistering and stomping as your guts hang out. “It’s time! To rise from the grave!” Jones wails, quoting this monstrous record’s title, and the leads light up again, taking you to the floor. “Necrobionics” punches in as gnarly growls wrestle you into the filth, the drums splintering dangerously. Deep howls curdle your blood, and then the playing rallies, burying you in dust. “Enhancing the Dead” is ugly and deathly as the drums punish and the riffs strangle. Things come unhinged as they get kind of nasty, a doomy pall hangs over, and the final moments are ripped away.
“The Funeral Within” explodes with punishing riffs and tangling guitars as the pace has its way with you. A brief halt leads to it exploding from the other end, the band thrashes wildly, and thunderous hell melts bodies, going for the throat as it’s pulling you into the grave. “Head Splattered in Seven Ways” has a jerking pace and a memorable blaze, Jones howling, “Tell me, tell me, tell me the truth,” before everything gets even gorier. The playing gets hazy for a stretch, the bass flexes, and the leads take flight, grinding to the end. “Human Chandelier” is a tremendous song title, and it blasts its way in, the melody lines snaking and drawing blood. The leads add even more character, the drums bash away, and things round back before an explosive end. “Bone Wrought” detonates immediately and unloads, the vicious growls sounding like they’re boiling in Jones’ throat. The chorus is simple and easy to call back, the monstrous fury thrashes, and the final moments choke you into blackness. “Trampled Headstones” is the closer, arriving amid a slaughtering pace as things get mangy and violent. Guitars sweep as bones are turned to dust, the pace devastates completely, and a sticky death swagger sneaks in as the track slowly fades.
Yes, Undeath have been the recipient of an enormous amount of hype, and “It’s Time … To Rise From the Grave” is arriving with a big promotional push that might make some skeptical. There’s no reason to question as this record just rips as it’s a straight-up, blood-and-guts death metal that is catchy and devastating at the same time. Sometimes people go nuts for a band because they’re really fucking good, and that’s the case with Undeath and this awesome record that’ll only elevate them further among this era’s best purveyors of the metal of death.
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/undeathNY
To buy the album, go here: https://shop.prostheticrecords.com/
For more on the label, go here: https://prostheticrecords.com/
Meat Mead Metal 