#Undeath 🇺🇸 #Interview

Hailing from Rochester, New York, Undeath made waves back in October 2020 with the gruesome death metal of their debut Lesions Of A Different Kind. Now, these fine men return with the follow-up, It’s Time...To Rise From the Grave. Fans of the band’s debut will definitely not be disappointed. I caught up with vocalist Alexander Jones to learn more about these death metal beasts.

Thanks for agreeing to this interview for Blessed Altar Zine. First off, who is Undeath and what does each member contribute to the band?

Alexander: Yo! Undeath is Alexander (Vocals), Kyle (Guitar), Jared (Guitar), Tommy (Bass) and Matt (Drums)

Your new record It’s Time...To Rise From the Grave is about to be released and it rips from the very first moments. How happy are you with how the record turned out?

Alexander: Thanks! We’re really stoked about how the record turned out and we’re really excited for people to finally hear the whole thing.

Your first album Lesions Of A Different Kind was very well received. What did you learn from recording your debut that you took into making this record?

Alexander: I think going into this record we just knew that we wanted to take more time with it. More time arranging the songs, more time making sure all the vocal patterns were memorable, more time in the studio actually tracking, etc… Besides that, we approached things very similarly. “If it ain’t broke,” as they say…

What the hell is going on with the shifting rhythms on Enhancing the Dead and who came up with this brilliant madness?

Alexander: That’s a Kyle Beam special right there. That song dates back to our demo days and is actually the first song on our second demo, Sentient Autolysis. We wanted to bring it back for this record and give it a big, proper studio recording.

Were there any tracks that were especially challenging to lay down for the latest album?

Alexander: Head Splattered in Seven Ways was pretty tough for me, personally. It’s probably the most demanding song on the record vocally and for whatever braindead reason I decided to save tracking it for last. My voice was pretty tight to begin with from tracking vocals basically non-stop over the last 10 or so days, so that one was a tricky one to end with. But I think it turned out great!

You promote yourselves as skull crushing death metal. If the music of Undeath was a blunt instrument to ride into battle with, what would it be?

Alexander: Some kind of possessed halberd that shoots spectral skeletons at your foes when you hold down L2.

How did the band first come together?

Alexander: Kyle moved here (Rochester) from Syracuse and was looking for people to jam with. He came across a video of Matt playing some ridiculously fast double kick exercises on Instagram and hit him up about playing some death metal. They started jamming, wrote some songs, and then asked me to come try out as a vocalist. The rest is history, I suppose!

No doubt the band has plenty of extreme metal heroes, but are there any guilty pleasures that listeners might be surprised to hear about? Anyone in the band slyly sticking Spice Girls on the stereo from time to time?

Alexander: I’m literally listening to 80s Japanese City Pop as I type this. Mariya Takeuchi, Kaoru Akimoto, Miki Matsubara – that’s my shit.

How much has the band managed to get out and play live over the past couple of years and what have been some notable highlights?

Alexander: We’ve been fortunate enough to get out and play a ton over the past year and we have a shitload of touring coming up as well. Most of the shows on the tour we did last fall with The Black Dahlia Murder stand out to me as highlights just because of how huge those shows were attendance-wise, but also the show we played in a skatepark in Syracuse last spring was one of my favorite shows I’ve ever played period!

What plans does Undeath have for the rest of 2022?

Alexander: Touring, touring, touring and maybe one or two other surprises! It’s going to be a busy year.

Finally, is there anything else you’d like to mention or promote?

Alexander: Just keep supporting underground death metal!

Interview: Tom Osman

Band photos: Errick Easterday

Thanks to Alexander for his time. It’s Time...To Rise From the Grave will be released on Prosthetic Records on 22 April. Head to the links below to pre-order a copy and follow the band on all social media to stay up to date with all that’s Undeath.