Undeath – Lesions Of A Different Kind Review

[Cover artwork: Matt Browning]

It’s almost Halloween and I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. I look at the social medias and I don’t see people flipping out about Undeath. I don’t see people posting selfies in their Undeath sweatpants. I don’t see people in the local park throwing around an Undeath logo Frisbee. Don’t worry, I wore a mask when I was there. I went to the dog store and saw absolutely zero Undeath brand dog beds. I wore a mask there too. What’s going on, America?

And for the rest of the world: wake up. You think you’re so great with your ancient history and your four thousand metal bands per capita. Well guess what: YOU’RE NOT. Because here in America we have Rochester, New York, and while Rochester might not be a shining example of industrialization anymore it’s certainly a shining example of what happens when a few dudes get together and make some of the best death metal on the planet. So take that Scandinavia. And take that EUROPE. America is IN THE HOUSE thanks to Undeath.

All of that blustering was an awesome and sweet way to let you know that Undeath kicks buttocks. Their demos, both released in 2019, were received with the kind of excitement befitting the beheading of a clergyman or royal. It was like the old days for Rochester back when polluting companies appeared and handed out jobs like puffy stickers. Or that time Genesee invented Genny Red! And now in 2020 they decided to put all their songs on one album and call it an LP. And guess what, you blustering buffoon, it rules.

Why don’t you do me a favor and head down to the basement and grab your karate belt. Tie that shit around your head like a bandana and press play on track 5, “Acidic Twilight Visions.” Let that opening riff just wash over your face. Get yourself into the mood. Don’t go for broke immediately. Wait a few seconds for once in your Goddamned life. Wait for that oh-so-sick main riff to drop. You there yet? Yeah you are. Now start throwing karate kicks left and right and smashing the walls and tables in your immediate surroundings. You hear how those drums just rumble along with the bass while the guitar slices and punches with riff after riff after bloody riff? Now you’re getting the idea of what Undeath is all about.

Slide that little dial back to the title track (it’s track 3). You hear those roto toms preceding the absolute thunderous riff that drops? Yeah. That one. The one that made your neck snap and your left arm flash so quickly it gave you a concussion and broke your zygomatic bone. Pretty sick riff, eh? Fucking A right it is. Did you check out those sewer-dweller vocals? Yeah. The ones that sound like they came straight out of the Bausch & Lomb runoff pipe. Yeah. The one they share with Wegmans and Xerox. Track is fucking sick, right?

How can you not love an album with song titles such as “Kicked in the Protruding Guts” and “Chained to a Reeking Rotted Body.” If you said, “that’s right, Manny, you can’t not like it” then you’re correct.

So it’s almost Halloween. Get out there and get some candy. Wait. Don’t go out there. There’s a fucking pandemic, you idiot. If you leave the house you will get the plague and you will spread the plague. Stay home. Wear a mask at home. Don’t talk to anyone. Hang up the phone. Don’t go on Instagram. No one cares what you’re posting. No one cares about your new bathroom rug. Get your life together.

Stay home and blast Undeath. You will be hard pressed to find a better death metal release in 2020. (Certainly Necrot is in the running though.) You will be hard pressed to find a better way to spend a night in. So find your favorite puppy and curl up on the couch with a nice glass of sewage and sip until the wolves howl and the witches cackle. And don’t forget to put the Genesee on ice.

And also, for real, Rochester rules. Once a place for filthy industry that polluted their lovely Genesee River it’s now a hub for education and technology. And not like Silicon Valley. You won’t find a bunch of dorks driving tiny cars. It’s a nice nod to the roots of Rochester which are driven deep in the abolition and early feminist movements. Long live true upstate New York.

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