Review by Saxy S for Undeath - Lesions of a Different Kind (2020)

2020 has been one of the strangest years that most of us have ever (and most likely, WILL) ever see. In a year in which everything that we knew and loved had been taken away from us because of a novel disease, we have all had to adjust to this brand new lifestyle. And for me, part of that lifestyle has been new music. As of writing this review, I have listened to over 300 new albums that were released in the year 2020, which is the highest number I have accumulated since 2016. Part of this is due to the lockdowns; much of my time has been trapped indoors so why not listen to a new album?

I have also managed to get my number so high because of my intention of listening to albums from genres that I do not have the most experience in. Which leads us to Undeath, a Rochester based death metal band who are doing a lot of mid to late 1990s worship of bands such as Immolation. And Lesions of a Different Kind is their debut record. And while I will certainly be the first to admit that this is not my cup of tea, I can see the appeal in it and can see why it is being flocked to by so many in the underground.

So what makes Undeath stand out amongst their contemporaries? Not much actually. The compositions on this record are very slapdash and held together with silly string. The transitions that we get from brooding slam portions to the more vicious tech death side is alarming and on multiple occasions, disorienting. Not for the band fortunately as the group is able to make the transitions in synchronicity, which is welcome in my ears. It's one of the many issues from those Immolation/Cannibal Corpse records that has been resolved, but these were issues that should have been fixed years ago. Credit where it do for sure, but when the issues involve basic editing and redubbing, these are things that all records should have.

Speaking of which, let's talk briefly about production, because many of my issues from the compositions are here as well. Mid to late 90s tech death has some very poor mixing in general, but Undeath were quick to realize that and really barrel in on what sounds are important at any particular moment. The guitar is usually in the forefront yes, but the percussion sounds very good and is not plagued by over-compressed cymbals or trigger bass drum. The bass is fairly irrelevant throughout (typical for this brand of death metal), but it does exist and it does not sound like it's being left in the dust by the guitars. All in all, it is one of the better tech death records from a sonic perspective. That being said, it is still a tech death record and it does have problems. The guitars are perpetually trapped in their two lowest strings, which means that there is no bass/guitar independence. I would say that "Phantasmal Festering" and "Lord of the Grave" have the closest thing to a divergence between the two parts.

Like I said, this is not a branch of metal that I typically don't delve into all that much. Before I would look at a record like this and simply turn away. But I am welcoming of this now and I can see the appeal of this, even though I won't listen to this very much. It is a better version of that Immolation/Cannibal Corpse sound from the 90s, but it does not do much else than that. For me, Tomb Mold are changing the game. I would rather stick with that.