Savage Land, the debut from Gruesome — Matt Harvey and company’s early-Death tribute band — has received quite a bit of hype. I even gave it some myself, and deservedly so, because the album is great. False Prophecies, the debut from Undead, is another old-school inspired death metal record with a strong Death influence that has, comparatively speaking, flown entirely under the radar. Of the two, however, False Prophecies might just be the better album.
I can find very little information on Undead. I don’t know who the members are or where they are from. The only pictures of the group feature five hooded figures, with faces hidden in shadow. I suspect the band might be trying to conjure up a little Ghost-like mystique. Whatever their game is, it’s immaterial, because whoever these individuals are, they can sure enough play some god-damned death metal, and that’s all that matters to me.
Though I have compared Undead to Gruesome, I should be clear that while Undead definitely wears its influences on its sleeve, False Prophecies is not the calculated tribute to a specific era of a specific band that Savage Land is. There is plenty of Death in the mix to be sure, but there is also Pestilence (the vocals sound like a deeper voiced Martin Van Drunen), Obituary, Asphyx and others. And though the Influences are primarily from the old-school, there is nothing tired or musty about False Prophecies; this is a vital and dynamic, contemporary death metal record.
The excellent production no doubt contributes to the 21st century sound of Undead’s old school-inspired death metal. False Prophecies is vibrant and punchy without sounding overly processed. The heavy parts have the requisite oomph, while the melodies remain crystal clear.
Undead’s greatest strength is its ability to create a varied and balanced sound. The riffing is relatively simple, but dexterous solos reminiscent of James Murphy lend a sense of technicality, and the tracks are full of strong, memorable melodies, without edging into sickly-sweet Gothenburg territory. And while Undead does not reach Suffocation levels of brutality, the band delivers a pretty serious pounding on several occasions. Mid-paced material rules the day, but False Prophecies contains enough creeping doom/death and white-knuckle thrashing to keep things interesting.
Another strong point for Undead is its ability to craft a good hook. Almost every track on False Prophecies has something to help distinguish it from its brethren. Most often the hook will be a haunting melody – the album is rife with them – but almost as often it will be a catchy chorus. It’s not always rocket science: frequently the chorus is little more than the song’s title growled out over a couple power chords, but it works just as well in death metal as it does everywhere else.
If False Prophecies has a weakness, it’s that it’s front-loaded. The album’s second half just isn’t quite as strong or catchy as the first half. There are no duds, necessarily, but the album does seem to drag a bit toward the end. This deficiency, however, is ameliorated somewhat by a reasonable running time of forty-three minutes.
It is understandable if another old-school-sounding death metal record doesn’t set your heart aflutter; we’re well past the saturation point. Yet, I urge you, if you still have even the tiniest smidgen of love left for Nineties death metal, don’t sleep on False Prophecies, because this one stands head and shoulders above the average throwback. Well crafted, impeccably performed, catchy and heavy as Hell in all the right spots.
