UNDEATH

The future of death metal is upon us, do we have hope for the future of this genre of metal?

USUALLY when I see a downgrade in venue, it usually means that either there was a scheduling conflict with the facility or that the tickets are not selling as well as expected.  Such as the case tonight where Undeath along with Gates of Hell, Tribal Gaze and Scalding were to appear at the much larger Rickshaw Theatre tonight but a couple weeks prior got rebooked at the much smaller Wise Hall.   Also, on this bill was to be Japanese death metal band Kruelty, but they are having severe visa issues and could not make this show however they will be in Seattle for tomorrow’s show.  Another point could be made is that it’s a Tuesday night but I think the bigger reason is that Undeath were just here this past June.  Also, a pile of shows that are in the Northwest in October so there is alot of competition for the dollar.  Needless to say as I pan around I see approximately 150 people and that might be an over estimate.

But despite the poor showing by Vancouver metal fans for premiere death metal, the show must go on.   You missed one helluva display from all 3 support acts, as blackish metal Scalding along with modern death metal Tribal Gaze and Gates to Hell put together some very solid performances.  Much as I expected as I have seen these bands in the past as all are very formidable.

Undeath have been around since about 2018 and broke out rather meteorically in 2020 with an great album called Lesions of a Different Kind .   There after it was 2022 for the next one with It’s Time…to Rise from the Grave and VERY shortly on October 4th, with a new one called More Insane. I’ve heard bits and pieces of it and it sounds pretty good too!

The band from New York features the players Kyle Beam (guitars), Alexander Jones (vocals), Tommy Wall (bass), Jared Welch (guitars), and Matt Browning (drums).

Tonight the start off with “Lord of the Grave” off the Lesions of a Different Kind album as the heads begin to slam at the front of the stage. I am really digging this slow chugging guitar on this one as Alex tries his best to get the crowd going. We get a new one next with a song 2 with “Brandish the Blade” that contains a hooky piece of guitar work to start with, as both guitarists are headbanging through that entire piece.  There after it was “Necrobionics” from the Rise of the Grave album  So right off we get a taste of all 3 albums we will hear from tonight.

Stage lighting at the Wise is as poor as expected and well, most death metal bands just don’t do light to begin with anyway.  Sound was not bad, especially for a hall like the Wise, and I found the music itself was on target and tight by the band as heard on “More Insane” at song 5.  Make no mistake, if you are into old school death metal (a la Bolt Thrower, Obituary), then this is right up your alley.  As most bands are gravitating towards 7 and 8 string guitars, these guys are on the 6 strings with no digital amps that I saw.

The unrelenting riff barrage continues with a mix of old and new with “Dead from Beyond”, “Enhancing the Dead”, “Acidic Twilight Visions” and “Shackles of Sanity” thereafter.  Alex’s growly chants keep up really good throughout the evening.   I have to laugh to myself a little as he mentions “this next one is a extremely old song, PHANTASMAL FESTERING”!   I felt old at that moment as 2018 doesn’t really feel that long ago.  But I really enjoyed that one watching , and came across live quite brutally.

They ended the evening with “Rise from the Grave” and their more known song with “Lesions of a Different Kind”.   I will mention that you do sense the usual progression with death metal bands that the older stuff is extremely brutal like from Lesions and the newer stuff is abit more technical with slight better voice enunciation.

Overall this was a great show all around.  The entire bill was extremely brutal and would’ve been even more ground shaking had Kruelty showed up.  Undeath however were impressive.  They don’t stray off the songs at all, and I didn’t hear much “Circle pit, circle pit” or “wall of death” but a heads down work approach.   It didn’t matter much if there was 150 people there or 15000 people there, they did what they wanted to achieve and play some outstanding, old school death metal.   This is definitely not a band to overlook and I for one will be picking up the new album and seeing if it is indeed More Insane than the rest of the discography!