Album Review: Undecayed - In Death's Image
Reviewed by Sam Jones
Undecayed have been around for some time now though only now are they at last releasing their debut studio album. Formed in 2008 out of Helsingborg, Sweden, the band’s only prior release was their The Triumph Of Death Demo way back in 2011. Since then the band underwent a fourteen year gap between releases, however here’s hoping this record, In Death’s Image, is what’s required for Undecayed to finally have their hour in the sun. Picked up by Lethal Scissor Records, the band’s roster has remained largely unchanged since their earlier days other than Drummer Jesper Leidbring, bringing his talents to the kit come 2014. Primed for release May 21st I’m curious as to how this record will be received given the time that’s passed since that 2011 Demo. I find debut albums especially fun and all the more so when a band exists almost twenty years beforehand too. Sweden is revered for its extreme metal, shall Undecayed be received as equally? Let’s find out.
I think we can all take a look at the album art, the band’s logo font, and come to realise Undecayed aren’t a band who will hold your hand throughout the record. The band forgo any form of subtlety to their songwriting, their guitar tone, and give us an album experience that is pummelling to the nth degree. As they okay you’ll feel like there’s very little separating you from their performance, where that album cover is paper thin and is merely to provide one minuscule barrier from being outright killed. There’s such little cushioning going on, this isn’t death metal where it’s tying to cater towards crafting some grand aesthetic or soundscape; Undecayed are here to tear your face clean off and that’s all there is to it. All the romanticism extreme metal today might possess is utterly absent throughout In Death’s Image; only impact is king here and delivered with a proudly raw finesse.
This is especially telling as we observe the guitar work that goes into Undecayed’s attack. The band possess vibes reminiscent to Deicide’s own catalogue where any potential niceties or minutiae have been removed, leaving only the most blood-frenzied pieces to behold. There’s nothing coating these riffs, no enveloping silk, not even the trace of some bubble wrap to spare our senses, this is death metal put through the grinder with as little tweaking as could be achieved. The riffs play with a coarse and sandpapered texture whereby they aren’t seeking to play through you but bounce off your face again and again. It’s aided immensely by the bass lines too where the two forces often work in tandem with each other; the bass might not be in your face but keener ears will note the bass lines running near enough parallel to the riffs provided. In this way, they fuse together into a legitimate synergy where it’s hard to remove one from the other owing per how critical their combined songwriting performs.
But nowhere does this raw and unfiltered soundscape come off with greater clarity than the vocals. Embodying Cannibal Corpse Chris Barnes-era vocals, Undecayed’s vocal delivery feels to be the exact same in the recording studio as it does on record. In a way it removes that critical barrier between band and audience, where we imagine it could be us on that end performing these vocals for the growls and bellows aren’t so far removed from our everyday attempts (and we’ve all tried death metal growls at some point). It’s another aspect that Undecayed use to their advantage given the utter absence of anything superficial or unwarranted within death metal at its most naked form. Had the mixing behind their instrumentation been more polished or refined the vocals wouldn’t mesh as well, but within the confines of the band’s unapologetic assault they couldn’t be more fitting.
One element that isn’t raw is the production applied to their songwriting. Had the band wanted to go that extra mile they could have stripped their record back with everything modern extreme metal uses so freely: that sense of binding which keeps everything together. However Undecayed are still a band who want you to feel the full might of what they’ve brought to bear against you and thus their production enables every instrumental and vocal element their time in the sun. Though we’ve firmly established Undecayed aren’t overtly concerned with a softer impact, they’ve still made sure everything is audibly coherent even as their songwriting refuses to compromise or slow at any moment. Those meaty vocals can roar away whilst still giving us the space to appreciate the drums, the entwined guitar and bass work is equally strong but the bass drums are still as prevalent. The band aren’t undergoing anything profound but they’ll still ensure you can experience the full gravitas of their performance at any given moment.
In conclusion, Undecayed’s first studio album, after such a long time from their 2011 Demo, is a brutally honest and visceral experience that it might come as a relief for many people. It’s no secret that extreme metal can be attuned with loftier ideals which often is reflected in how a band produces, writes and mixes a record so it’s nice to observe a band that does away with all such niceties, leaving only the most ruthless components. Undecayed aren’t trying to be anything other than themselves see in their own mirror, where death is king and they love playing the hell about it. Against a slew of buzzsaw-tone worshipping acts across Sweden, Undecayed offer a more brutal counterpart that takes no prisoners and will leave you writhing in the dirt. Necks shall ache after this one for sure.
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