Label- Prosthetic Records
Release Date - 22 April 2022
Words- Chris Fletcher
When a band describes their sound as “skull-crushing death metal”, they have to be prepared to back it up. Rochester, New York’s Undeath are ready to unleash their second full-length album ‘It’s Time…To Rise From the Grave’, and with this they show that not only are they able to live up to their words, but why they may be the pinnacle of death metal in 2022.
Coming two years since their debut record “Lesions Of A Different Kind”, the band have honed their sound to a tee, providing ten new tracks of good gore-splattered fun. “It’s Time...” has all the hallmarks we know and love in our death metal and ticks all the boxes you could want ticking. However, despite this, the album feels fresh and energised. Whilst there are certainly elements of scene stalwarts such as Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation in their sound, Undeath always feel like they are their own entity, and it is the fact that they are able to merge the aspects of old school death metal with their own personality which mean that it doesn’t feel hyperbolic to claim that they could well represent the future of the genre.
Opening track “Fiend For Corpses'’ lets us know what we are in for straight from the outset with a groove and swagger that promises we’re in for a good time as well as a pummelling. Title track ‘Rise From The Grave’ bursts in like a modern death metal classic, managing to combine actual hooks with guitar leads that mean that this should be the biggest (and catchiest) death metal song of the year. Later on in the album ‘Head Splattered In Seven Ways’ not only carries an infectious stomp but also boasts a title that accurately describes what it feels like to listen to this record…in a good way.
Production wise the album is spot on, managing to be as muddy as you want your nasty death metal to be whilst also not allowing anything to get lost in the mix. The lead guitars pierce through the noise admirably, offering different textures to the heavy riffs and bass on offer, whilst the drums throughout the whole affair are always there to kick you in the chest in the way only good blast beats can.
We all know death metal is underground music and extreme records like this are usually destined to stay there, but with this album, Undeath have managed to craft an album full of that rare thing: death metal anthems. Whilst their debut LP laid the foundations for them to build on, “It’s Time…To Rise From the Grave” gives them a platform from which they can rise as high as they want to.
9/10.
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