ALBUM REVIEW: Parasite – Untervoid
UNTERVOID might very well be one of the very best black metal acts that Poland has produced in the last decade, considering that the Krakow-based trio features amongst its ranks current and former members of KRIEGSMACHINE, BEHEMOTH and THAW. It should come as little surprise of black metal fans that the bands music, even in its earliest incarnation on the bands debut, self-titled E.P in 2018, is not just extremely tight and stunning in its scope, but also distinctly abrasive and even experimental in its approach, without going overboard and alienating listeners. The bands debut album, Parasite, comes over six and a half years on from the release of that E.P, and the excellent and eclectic sound that loomed large into the formers sound has been developed and all but mastered in the interim, resulting in what is arguably the best debut album from a black metal band in recent memory.
Parasite is a razor sharp and punishing start to this album, with blistering guitar work and frenetic drumming serving as an excellent backdrop to jarring hooks and domineering vocals. It’s the type of song that begins at a breakneck pace and stays that way, whilst being careful to incorporate just enough variety and lots of demented flourishes to make sure that it has the listeners attention. 23, a great piece of music with powerful guitars and ethereal touches, uses its slower pace to create some forceful performances, with a few cleaner passages and jazzy interludes, complete with saxophones and intricate drum fills, helping to draw the music into an adventurous and effective sound that is a far cry from the feral Black Metal assault that immediately follows, creating an unpredictability that makes this engrossing without having to sacrifice the intensity that characterised the albums opener.
Downfall of Angels leans towards a muscular black ‘n roll sound, with chunky hooks and weighty rhythms, but there’s also an underlying atmosphere that begins to take hold, especially when it comes to the sonorous vocals, gradually morphing from a mid-paced, swaggering tune into something stunningly epic, though still undoubtedly indebted to slick hard rock. Abyss Gazes Black, in spite of its crisp acoustic licks and thunderous, percussive drums, is built around two components; dramatic atmosphere and subtly discordant guitar work. With this stripped back style slowly building into a song that’s much more substantial, with the haunting, eerie vocals being a particular highlight of this leaner, tighter sounding offering.
Ruiner reverts to the dissonant Black Metal approach of the first track, but blends this aggression with the sort of emotive vocal performances and cavernous feel of the preceding effort, with the end result being a great balance between these two sides of UNTERVOID’s songwriting, with the punchy and the pummelling making for easy bedfellows. Swarm ties together the dancing, hypnotic leads of earlier songs with denser, darker tones, with a few jarring touches peppered in for good measure. This biting guitar sound is contrasted sharply by rumbling gutturals, lending the vocals a bigger, impactful role within the music, allowing the bleak and meaty parts of the latter half to contribute a sombre edge into proceedings.
Azure Agony, with its reserved, cavernous musicianship, introduces an almost imperceptible synth into the sound, adding another layer to the music, with grating, thrashing guitars and energetic, unhinged drumming pushing this firmly into a more visceral strain of black metal, a central ferocity that is tempered somewhat as melodious leads and gentle ambience begin to make their presence felt, playing with a melodic black metal sound in ways that, upon first glance, are almost unnoticeable.
Last Shore sees the kind of subtle atmospherics that played a minor role in the previous songs get embraced wholeheartedly, with the lighter guitars, steadier drumming and cleaner vocals altering to accommodate this headier, bombastic aspect, with the overall sound being closer to the sort of viking metal that was touched upon briefly within songs like Swarm and Abyss Gazes Back and bringing back soaring prog rock riffs and Saxophones to allow the bands experimental side to inform the sound prominently in its final moments.
It’s incredibly rare to come across bands that are able to produce an album this brilliant on their first attempt at a full length, regardless of whether the band in question features members who’ve been embroiled within the black metal scene creatively for two or three decades. Everything on Parasite is fantastically sharp and hyper-focused, and, much like the bands first E.P, manages to inject plenty of variety and some great, progressive touches into the record without them feeling contrived or unnecessary. It’s got the sort of bite and precision that is typical of most, if not all, Polish extreme metal acts, but it also stands apart from all but a few acts within that country and scene in terms of its songwriting and singular magnificence.
Rating: 9/10
Parasite is out now via Pagan Records.
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