UNDEAD - Putrefactio
May 22, 2023, a year ago
(Redefining Darkness)
Spanish death metal freakies Undead do what they need to do here on second full-length Putrefactio, which is harnessing the sounds of haunting old-school death metal.
I say “haunting” because tracks like neck-destroying opener “Feast For The Worms” have this certain quality in the riffs that's not quite melodic but has that cinematic feel that the best classic Swedish DM carried with it, and “Intermediate State Of Reality” scissor-beats with authority, band totally raging, vocals just kinda there, production bringing out everything—even the bass—in all its putrid glory (Dan Swanö mixed and mastered the record). Now, by the time you get to “Discordia” or so, even though it's an awesome song, there's a very solid feeling of ennui kicking in, the feeling of having been here before, even on this very record.
But, hey, those classic Entombed records weren't exactly monuments to diversity, and, speaking of classic Entombed records, “Serpent's Gift” absolutely nails that vibe, while “The Call Of The Void” delivers such a perfect mean median hammer-smashed tempo that all concerns about personality and hooks are just pounded to dust, absurd solo music to my bleeding ears, Undead getting it all right here, and doing what they needed to do.
