Band: Undeath
Album: Lesions of a Different Kind
Genre: Death Metal
Country: USA (Rochester)
Release Date: 23rd of October, 2020
Released via Prosthetic Records / Maggot Stomp
Cover Artwork: © Undeath, 2020
In times of a pandemic, new music is important, especially if you have to do without concerts. Already in 2019, Undeath caused quite a stir with their EP Sentient Autolysis. One year has passed since then and these guys are back with their debut album. My anticipation was great, I often tend to look forward to a certain release too much, but with Lesions of a Different Kind I wasn’t disappointed. The Americans have ten songs in their luggage and with a running time of 35 minutes, the album offers an ideal length. Compared to the last EP, there was definitely no compromise on quality. Lesions of a Different Kind offers a high-quality mix, which fortunately doesn’t sound too sterile for Death Metal.
Without much waiting time, it goes straight to the full! No intro, “Suitably Hacked To Gore” immediately proves where the strength of this record lies, namely in the sound. Well-produced 90s Death Metal, exactly the way it should sound. If you like bands such as Cannibal Corpse or Incantation, you will warm up quickly with Undeath. Often, bands tend to sound quite monotonous, little variety. But the quintet manages to avoid exactly this mistake. The title track is a good example for this. Here, the band gets support from Trevor Strnad – his distinctive screams, which can be heard on one or another Black Dahlia Murder album, bring Undeath to a whole new level. The riffing is phenomenal! “Acidic Twilight Visions” literally flushes your ear canal. The tempo changes in the slow parts make you want to pound a hole in the ground. While the faster passages break your neck. “Obituarty” eats your heart out. In general, the concept of brute tempo changes runs like an intended theme through the entire album. Thereby boredom rarely arises.
On the contrary, it feels like being run over by a truck. “Kicked In The Protruding Guts” is not only a brutal song title – no. The whole structure and sound of the song shows slight Mortician influences and nothing is crasser than Mortician! Vocally seen, this track is also the best performance of Alexander Jones for me. If your neck was still in time, this should be done with “Archfiend Coercion Methods” at the latest. The song shows the technical sophistication that is slumbering in the band and has finally awakened. Undeath do not reinvent the wheel with their debut, on the contrary. Nevertheless the sound of the Americans sounds refreshing, I haven’t heard a band in a long time that set the bar very high on their first album. It remains to be seen whether there can be improvement after Lesions of a Different Kind. Maybe Undeath doesn’t have to, though, because I am under the impression that these guys know exactly where the journey should go. In the Death Metal underground, there is no way around this band this year.
9/ 10
Favorite Tracks:
“Lesions of a Different Kind”
“Acidic Twilight Visions”
“Kicked in the Protruding Guts”
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