Album Review and Interview: Undeath - More Insane

Fast-rising death metal berserkers Undeath have been taking the world by storm with their raw, brutal and utterly fanatical death metal sound. Their previous album It's Time...To Rise From The Grave found itself at the top of Decibel Magazine's Top 40 Albums of 2022 along with a cover feature. Fast-forward to now and they have made an explosive return with their 4th studio album More Insane which will be released via Prosthetic Records on October 4th.

Vocalist Alex Jones says:

"We put more pressure on ourselves than anyone else—it's all internal. We always try to one-up ourselves. There's exterior pressure for sure, but we ignore it. Ultimately, we're just big fans of our band. We know what we want to hear from ourselves, so we're always making music we'd be stoked to listen to as UNDEATH fans."

Guitarist Kyle Beam adds:

"The songwriting has been streamlined a lot since Lesions. Even though I wrote [for this album] on the road, most of the songs were written at home in my chair—I just ripped them out. I'm trying to get closer to tracing the line of metal from the mid-'70s to now. More to the point, if you've never heard us before and see us live, you can take something away from it. We want people to remember the songs. That's important to us."

Emilee of This Day In Metal recently had the opportunity to chat with vocalist Alex Jones of Undeath. Check it out here:

We are greeted with the sinister march and war drums of an undead army with the record's opening track 'Dead From Beyond' before flurries of technical riffage and rolling blast-beats storm into the forefront with rasping gutturals. The energy here is unmatched right from the very start. Next up we have the title track which stays very true to its name; this track marks the point where the album literally gets 'More Insane.' Detailed basslines and thunderous drums create a sinister atmosphere guided by old school riffage and venomous roars. 'Brandish The Blade' picks up the pace with frantic speed, spiraling guitars and flying dual guitar solos. 'Disputatious Malignancy' begins with a technically precise groove stomp before it launches into fevered intensity. A short, sharp attack straight to the jugular at just under 3 minutes long, this track packs a major punch.

'Sutured For War' doesn't hang around with the focus being on the ferocious drumming techniques. Alternating between different blast-beat styles and thunderous rhythm, this is definitely one of the heaviest tracks of the record; pure death metal in all its nasty glory. 'Cramped Caskets (Necrology)' is inspired by nightmare-fueled video games and certainly has a foreboding, evil edge to the sound complete with rampaging pacing and crazed determination whereas 'Bounty Hunter' takes on a mid-tempo groove stomp with low guttural growls and technical time signatures.

'Wailing Cadavers' is the shortest track on the record at just 2 and a half minutes long but it's an intense, rapid and devastatingly heavy assault with crushing guitars, pitch harmonics and rolling drums until it slows to a trudging, chugging pace with an almighty guttural growl from the depths of hell. 'Disattachment Of A Prophylactic In The Brain' takes a surprising turn from the beginning with catchy hooks and grooves whilst discussing the topic of man-eating laboratory demons, as you do. But don't let the opening groove fool you as it soon turns to chugging death metal prime and intricate riffage once again. The record ends with 'Bones Clattering In The Cave,' a sprawling, spiraling onslaught of classic old school death metal swaying like a heavy pendulum whilst bringing all of that powerful intensity to a close.

If crazy, unrelenting, old school death metal is your poison of choice, then look no further. This record is brutal yet highly addictive from beginning to end. The band have not only pushed their creative boundaries but they have obliterated them entirely. It's safe to say that Undeath are More Insane than they have been ever before.

Rating: 8/10
Release Date: October 4th 2024
Released By: Prosthetic Records
FFO: Bolt Thrower, Carcass, Cannibal Corpse

Track List

1. Dead From Beyond
2. More Insane
3. Brandish The Blade
4. Disputatious Malignancy
5. Sutured For War
6. Cramped Caskets (Necrology)
7. Bounty Hunter
8. Wailing Cadavers
9. Disattachment Of A Prophylactic In The Brain
10. Bones Clattering In The Cave