Richard HolmesUndeath – More Insane (Prosthetic Records)
From the moment Undeath erupted like a burst pustule in ’18, they’ve have been turning heads and snapping necks. Their Demo ’19 and Sentient Autolysis releases showed enough promise to get them hitched to Prosthetic, debut album Lesions Of A Different Kind marked their international arrival and 2022’s It’s Time… To Rise From The Grave, propelled the quintet skywards.
The Rochester, NY crew are now at the frontline of North American death metal’s new wave. While Sanguisugabogg, Mutilatred and Vomit Forth slug it out in the gutter, and Blood Incantation and Tomb Mold ascend to the progosphere, Undeath are hitting that Carcass Corpse sweet spot. They’re making the kind of music that sends pits into chaos, is true to the spirit of OSDM, and is obscenely addictive.
It’s Time… – our death metal album of 2022 – was always going to take some beating. The likes of Necrobionics and its titanic title track made that record a 20s classic. It arguably defined Undeath.
Yet the band have attempted to top that effort with More Insane, with vocalist Alex Jones claiming Undeath “always try to one up themselves”.
Their third album isn’t streets ahead of its predecessor. But it reinforces what makes this act special: pinpoint riffs that burrow deep into the bone, well-honed, muscular songs that are stripped of fat, and a fine grasp of metal dynamics.
Brandish The Blade is peak Undeath. Instinctive. Visceral. Explosive.
It’s the catchiest song the band have ever written. It’s the catchiest death metal song in years, full stop.
Dead from Beyond taps into Necrobionics’ urgent groove, as Undeath open the album with aplomb.
The title track churns and boils with malevolence, again reaffirming that some of the band’s best work is delivered at mid-pace, and Cramped Caskets (Necrology) sees Kyle Beam and Jared Welch rocking like prime Steer/Amott, while eviscerating their fretboards.
They’re the standouts.
But aside from the slightly sluggish Bounty Hunter, there’s real quality throughout, from Matt Browning’s pulsing percussive performance on Disattachment of a Prophylactic in the Brain, to the contorting closer, Bones Clattering in the Cave.
Undeath haven’t been afraid to stretch their wings either. The shadow of Gothenburg looms over Surtured for War, for example, and it seeps into Brandish… too. It doesn’t feel out of place on an album which reveals more subtle touches with every play.
Undeath stake their claim with More Insane
The momentum this act have built, over just six years, has been astonishing. And to follow up It’s Time… with this sizzling opus is testimony to their growing confidence as writers, and their blossoming technical dexterity.
At present, Undeath are unstoppable.
Undeath photo by Nick Karp.
