UNDEAD – Putrefactio
Release Date: 5th May 2023
Label: Redefining Darkness Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Metal, Old School Death Metal.
FFO: Coffin Rot, Grave Infestation, Avulsed.
Review By: Ross Bowie
Undead returns with their blend of old-school death metal and thrash-induced fury. The 4-piece hailing from Spain are ready to drag you down to the pits with their skilful yet slick brand of death metal. Their album title might translate to “Rotten” but this album is disgusting in all the right ways.
This album is all go all the time and is driven by the incredible drum work of Matt de Vallejo. The drums thrash away, burrowing through the album, while the guitar work matches its pace, beat for beat. It would be too easy to just fill your album with pace and let the speed do the talking, but, Undead are too talented for a trick so simple. The lead work all over this album is utilised perfectly; it never feels overdone or forced, but more impressively, the band has the songwriting knowledge to know when they’ve been on an idea for too long. Every time a riff or section starts to feel samey, the band throw a new idea at you and give you something different to sink your teeth into.
Putrefactio, doesn’t skimp on the heaviness, either. Zugzwang sounds downright evil when the riffs come roaring out the speakers at you, while Serpents Gift has a change of pace and looks to take your head clean off. The latter also features the album’s best lead work and has killer bass fills running in the background. Undead are good at making you feel unhinged and leaving you waiting for their next trick, but the album has such a fun quality throughout the ten tracks. Yes, this kind of music is supposed to be tough and hard, and don’t worry if that’s how you like your death metal; there is plenty here, but the excitement that the band has for their music is so apparent. This is the sound of four friends coming up with the most blood-curdling songs they can write and having the best time doing it.
Undead have had some decent buzz around them since the release of 2019’s Existential Horror, but this is the record where they take that step up. Once this band hit the touring circuit and start popping up on festival bills, everyone will be claiming to be in on it from the start. As the band say themselves, “Beware the unholy power of the Undead… The hunting has begun!”
(4 / 5)
