ALBUM REVIEW: Undergang – Aldrig I Livet

Danish old school Death Metal heavyweights UNDERGANG are back with their 5th full length album. Needing no introduction, I will get to the point. This slab of filth will be unleashed by Me Saco Un Ojo Records (LP), Dark Descent Records (CD) and Extremely Rotten Productions (tape) on December 4th.

Bellowing in, rotten guitars cascade offal over chiming cymbals before a mid-paced groove of grotesqueries kicks in. The pulverising sway that Undergang have delivered so consistently is present from the onset with David’s vile vocals spewing across the mix which is a tight yet gritty blend of grinding viscera and doomy creepiness. The atmospheric side of things is the first major step-up, taking a rather eerie approach to the breaks while never detracting from that deliberate skull-smashing filth. It seems like we are getting a rancid blend of all of the bands previous works here which have been regurgitated into a concise 32 minutes of putrid sounds, let us see if this is the case. Stomping onwards, no grave is left unopened as the pummelling drums and gut-swinging riffs work in unison with swampy grunts to concoct only the most disgustingly depraved Death Metal sounds one could hope for from this titan of the movement. Pure old school Death Metal magnificence, the brutal way.

The doomy, spaced out approach to a lot of this material is similar to the “Døden Læger Alle Sår” record while utilising the concise, in your face momentum of “Misantropologi”. This blend is utterly perfect, showcasing everything Undergang is about while never wasting a second, staying in the vein of pure malice as they crush all in their path with monolithic musicianship of primitively pungent proportions. Though primal, there is more than enough variety from the hammering blastbeats, crawling fills and cymbal work all the way through to the spacious riffs, rotten licks and tremolo-picked spectral ectoplasm. All of this makes for an impeccable sonic wall for a chundered cacophony of vocal spew to elevate the unpleasantness that one little bit extra. With a thunderous production, the Killtown heavyweights deliver round after round of marrow-curdling barbarity with precise blows and mucus-ridden upheaval. I am beginning to feel unwell.

This is certainly the most diverse Undergang record yet with some cosmic intervals and expansive riffing to intersperse the grotesquely malignant blundering of pure staunch brutality. Perhaps the idea of an “expansive” Undergang record sounds heinous to you, well fear not, they aren’t quite on Blood Incantation’s plane of otherworldliness, this is still the rotten savagery we all know and love so much. Punishing weight is applied throughout the record with the low-register vocals blending into the relentless drum onslaught as the dripping walls of riffs coat the whole damned thing in a slimy gloop that rests in the mix with the chunky bass lines. Soloing is head occasionally which is not exactly what these Danes are known for and while used sparingly, it is effective and surprisingly elegant, though fitting into the disembodied snarl of the record very nicely. The end result? Malicious, repugnant, vomitous and utterly splendid.

In consensus, this barbaric and mangled record is some of the most potent savagery from Undergang yet. Taking their doomy approaches and grinding hellishness into equal measure and churning out a blistering blend of sewer-death mastery, there is no better answer as to why these Danish maniacs are at the top of the game in rotting records and zombifying tours. A superb act both live and on wax (or tape, I don’t discriminate), this is fearsome, daunting and crushing Death Metal at its best. -9/10

For more UNDERGANG filth, you can read my recent interview with frontman David Mikkelsen HERE!