Indhentet Af Døden
(self-financed)
32:00min
Even though Denmark had given birth to quite a lot of very cool bands in Metal history already (MERCYFUL FATE, SAMHAIN, ARTILLERY, EVIL, INVOCATOR, DENIAL OF GOD), I wouldn’t necessarily associate the country with extremely dark and brutal old school Death Metal, so UNDERGANG’s debut promo demo "Indhentet Af Døden" (which translated means "caught by death") turned out to be a very big (positive) surprise to me. Just imagine bands like Swedish CREMATORY, Finland’s ABHORRENCE or early stuff by New Jersey’s INCANTATION with some extremely heavy sounding guitar riffs, totally guttural vocals and an overall very apocalyptic, doomy overtone to it and you get an idea of what this Danish three-piece is all about. Even the bass is very audible in the mix, which increases their heaviness even more… Totally great stuff!!! Among others they name bands like AUTOPSY, WINTER, MASTER, KAAMOS, DEATH, CREMATORY, PUNGENT STENCH as their musical influences, which sums it up pretty good as well, I suppose. From what I understood the tape is already completely sold out by now (no surprise considering that it was released in a limited edition of 100 numbered cassette tapes only)… But don’t worry, if you should’ve missed out on it (even if it’s got an extremely cool looking b/w artwork and logo design): it’s gonna be re-released on vinyl through Me Saco Un Ojo Records in the not too distant future! Until then you can listen to 4 of the 7 featured songs (plus intro and a short acoustic interlude) on their official myspace site: www.myspace.com/undergang666. I still wonder about their band name though… if it was meant to be the German word UNTERGANG (which means "downfall", "decline" and which would really fit their music) they defintely made a spelling error… but maybe it’s just a cool wordplay in their case ; -)
Frank Stöver
Indhentet Af Døden
(Xtreem Music)
32:01min
This album from Danish heavy-weights UNDERGANG has already been released on LP in January 2010 by UK label Me Saco Un Ojo Records (sold out by now) and now finally it is also out on CD through Xtreem Music. And let me tell you, this is a real gem that’s not so easy to find nowadays. UNDERGANG deliver ultra heavy Death Metal in the best traditions of SUFFOCATION (old), ROTTREVORE, (old) CARCASS, AUTOPSY and such like with their own twist and a huge splash of sludge. The sound is chokingly fat, low and murky, yet all instruments are quite clear, vocals are used more like an instrument too, low gurgling growls perfectly add to the deadly atmosphere. There are enough tempo changes and variations to keep the whole album dynamic, mostly ranging from mid-tempo to slow, but the drummer goes crazy on occasions too. Still the ultra heavy Death riffs rule supreme here and what fuckin riffs!! These guys obviously know what they do, everything is very well presented, down to the cover art (killer!!) and logo, and with punishingly heavy sound this might be one of the best old school Death Metal albums of the year. Even though all lyrics are in Danish it doesn’t really matter, coz you wouldn’t be able to discern a word here, but that doesn’t take anything from the whole experience. Many bands try to emulate old masters and even old masters themselves fail to achieve such mindblowing results on their newer records, but UNDERGANG hit it right where it counts and at 32 minutes "Indhentet Af Døden" ("Caught By Death") is set to become one the genre’s classics. Very highly recommended! All further info at www.myspace.com/undergang666, www.xtreemmusic.com
Mindaugas "Plix" Lapinskas
• UNDERGANG - Undergang / Spectral Voice (Carlo Masoni)
• UNDERGANG - Anatomia / Undergang (Vamsi Kanagovi)
• UNDERGANG - Aldrig I Livet (Frank Stöver)
• UNDERGANG - Ufrivillig Donation Af Vitale Organer (Mirco Szymyslik)
• UNDERGANG - Den Dobbelte Grav (Julián "Powder Burns" Núñez)
• UNDERGANG - Levende Forrådnelse... Live I USA (Rick Peart)
• UNDERGANG - Misantropologi (Diego Rodrigues)
• UNDERGANG - Døden Læger Alle Sår (Anders Peter Jørgensen)
• UNDERGANG - ...And You Will Live In Terror (Thomas Ehrmann)
• UNDERGANG - Til Døden Os Skiller (Alfonso Perez)
• UNDERGANG - The Dead Of Winter (Hacker)
• UNDERGANG - Interview (Alfonso Perez)
• UNDERGANG - Interview (Mindaugas “Plix” Lapinskas)