| Band: | Underdark |
| Release: | O Come Forth Annihilation |
| Genre: | Post-Black Metal |
| Country: | England |
| Release Date: | 6th of November, 2026 |
| Released via | Church Road Records |
3 years have come and gone since Underdark released their last, great album Managed Decline. Economical Post-Black Metal tour de force. Now O Come Forth Annihilation with its 5 tracks and two interludes is here to captivate the listeners’ attention once more.
“Annihilation Overture” and “The Hit Piece” lure in with spoken words but soon give way to the existential dread that is today and its tightening grip. But it wouldn’t be Underdark if there wasn’t a certain beauty to it all. The last three and a half minutes of said tracks are warm sunbeams through the grey haze of every other day.
The production and mix on this one are phenomenal. Of course, there’s a certain dryness to it; we are still talking about Black Metal here, but there is enough flesh to it so that the Post-Metal parts can shine in all their instrumental glory. For example, the closer “Children of Men” is envy-worshipping par excellence. When I heard the first seconds, I immediately thought of Insomniac Doze or Recitation. Those soft guitars, the drum pattern, and a singer on the brink of existence.
The other side of those Post-Rock aspects are tracks like “Death of a Toolmaker” or „Non-Linear Warfare“. The first one is a Black Metal-laced rush: blasting, thrashing, very dark, while the latter contains all the raging qualities of the first one but offers some cinematic conclusion on top of all that.
O Come Forth Annihilation is a great case for “perfect record for the perfect time of the year.“ It pushes the door wide open for long walks, falling leaves, and introspective moods. Underdark have shifted their sound towards a more personal scope, and it fits them as well as the conceptual approach on the predecessor. If Post-Black Metal is a genre you regularly return to, then this record will be a mainstay in your ears.
This is not an Indian Summer record; this is music for a harvest moon night.
From: Herten (Germany)
Favorite Artists: Nine Inch Nails – Depeche Mode – Converge
Best Show: Envy@Gebäude 9 (Cologne)
Other Endeavors: Author at Plattentests.de
