ALBUM REVIEW: Aldrig i livet – Undergang
UNDERGANG are a band that definitely take many of their musical cues from the early days of death metal. Everything they do, from their music through to their album artwork, draws heavily from the sound and imagery of the late 80s and early 90s, which gives the band a timeless rather than a dated feel. Blending massive a massive rhythmic undercurrent with a more demented goregrind edge, the band’s music pays homage to their influences without completely re-treading ground that other bands have already covered. The bands latest, fifth album, Aldrig i livet, continues in this trend, and proves to be another great slab of classic death and grind, albeit with a few weaker moments spread throughout.
The album starts with the powerful Præfluidum, a track that blends monstrous rhythmic hooks with dark atmosphere followed by the equally short, but incredibly effective, Spontan bakteriel selvantændelse a track that expertly blends goregrind with muscular, old school sound. Both tracks may be brief, but they leave a solid impression early on.
Indtørret lig serves as a meaty slab of death metal with great, chunky basslines, weighty gutturals and excellent, varied guitar work that manages to couple great riffs with stark production, making for a feral and filthy sounding offering. Menneskeæder, with it’s percussive punk flourishes, carries forward the massive guitar and bass sound, with some more energised and chaotic resulting in an intense juggernaut that works quite well. Ufrivillig donation af vitale organer makes prominent use of cleaner guitars and plenty of haunting melodies to set the tone, before launching into an impressive, vicious track that again draws heavily upon UNDERGANG‘s classic death metal influences, with rabid guitar work breaking up with the steady, hypnotic pace, giving this an eclectic feel that elevates the track for all the right reasons.
Sygelige nydelser (Del III) Emetofili ups the aggressive ante, with the visceral vocal deliveries and monolithic musicianship on all fronts giving everything a magnificent feel that is only amplified by the dirty quality of the mix, leaning back towards the Goregrind elements within the bands sound fairly prominently. Usømmelig omgang med lig takes the best parts of its predecessor and injects a little bit of speed into the fray, pushing the music into even more savage territories, a fleeting bridge between the songs first and second halves serving as the only break from the songs punishing groove.
Aldrig i livet sees UNDERGANG at their most cinematic, with soundbites and a hair-raising opener lending an atmospheric edge to the sound, with the funereal pace and disjointed leads cementing this as the albums stand out offering. Rødt dødt kød is just as dissonant as the last, with some great, frenzied guitar work and venom-soaked vocals adding lots of character to the music, with some cleaner sections and interesting leads peppered liberally throughout, bringing many of the album’s strengths together within this final song, closing the album on one of its more impressive offerings.
One of the main ways that UNDERGANG excel is that their music perfectly matches the intensity of many of the tracks on here. The murky and dirtier production quality, which brings to mind plenty of old school death metal and even goregrind acts at points, and that is no different here, coupling chunky and powerful hooks with a great, low-fi sound that should pique the interest of many fans of classic bands. The music, although proving to be a slight step from their previous album, Misanthropolgi, sometimes falls flat, with the incredibly strong rhythms and monstrous vocals not being complemented by some imaginative riffs and ideas, although this certainly changes in the albums second half. Nonetheless, it’s hard not to get caught up in this music, especially when it’s at its more visceral and chaotic moments.
Rating: 7/10
Aldrig i livet is out now via Dark Descent Records/Me Saco Un Ojo.
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