Undercroft - The Killer Sword

Undercroft is a death metal band from Chile, who formed in 1991.  Their latest album, “The Killer Sword,” is their ninth full-length album; they have also released four demos, two compilations, a live album and a boxed set.  

That’s a lot of music!  To my shame, I’ve never heard of this band before I was sent the promo for “The Killer Sword.”  How has this band escaped my radar over the years?  I’ll have to stop kicking myself long enough to dive into their back catalog because if it's even half as good as this album, then I need to hear more of what they offer.

“The Killer Sword,” is, by far, the catchiest extreme metal album I’ve heard so far this year.  I don’t mean they have clean, poppy choruses, or a sound so modern that it was born in a deathcore pit.  This is straight up 100% death metal that ticks off the boxes.  

More importantly, it has riffs FOR DAYS.  For centuries.  I can’t even count the number of brutal, ass-kicking riffs on this album.   Every one of them is a banger and I can’t imagine the carnage the band is going to cause in a venue with these songs.

But it isn’t just about the guitars and bass.  The drumming is straight up RIDICLOUS in the best way possible.  Full, powerful, never-ending without overtaking the mix or drowning out the other instruments.  A death metal album with a decent production job?  WHAT!?!?!? The vocals are perfect for the styles.  Deep growls without sounding like a frog or someone trying to vomit up last week's spoiled cabbage surprise.

Oh, and this is an air guitar album if I ever heard one.  I love to listen to music (obviously) and love to write about music (duh) but I have a negative percent talent at playing it.  But I’ll be damned if I wasn’t pretending I was playing these riffs.  Special note: don’t do this while driving. 

The songs across the album’s tight 32-minute runtime are so well written and zeroed in that they are almost anthem-like.  Death metal anthems?  Yes, please. 

“Blood Red Sky,” opens the album and wastes absolutely no time.  Before the 15 second mark even passes, I’m already exhausted from the bludgeoning.   The groove, the drums…it’s all like a speedy freight train going towards your FACE.  The solos have a wonderful old school approach—wild and crazy but intense and placed perfectly.  After the 1:50 mark, the song feels like it is going to explode–maybe it did and I’m dead, writing this as a ghost. 

A song called, “Scream in Genocide,” probably should put a smile on my face but here we are.  This is one of my favorites of the nine songs.  The riffs just don’t stop, and the drums line up the song perfectly. The groove is dizzying—am I going insane or is that just from the neck pain from headbanging so much?  The song slows down (barely) around the 1:47 but only does so to set up another passage of pure carnage.  The grooves here are nearly unfathomable in their potency.  The solo and tempo near the end are outrageous, in the best way. 

The title track is just over 5 minutes in length and the longest song on the album.  I think the extra minute or so really helps lean into their sound.  The buildup is crushing, especially the drums.  Just before the one-minute mark, the entire band dives into a pool of blood, sweat, and tears.  Emerging from it, is some kind of creature built out of pain and an insatiable thirst for face melting riffs and speed.  

The next song, “The Triumph of Time,” is a bit of a curve ball but I’m here for it.  It consists of a slower tempo than the other songs, with almost doomy riffs as they are so thick and grinding.  The song is also loaded with subtle touches of melodic—and it works well.  A short but very sweet song.

The final song, “Warrior’s Roar,” sounds about what you would imagine a song with that title to sound like, meaning it sounds like a never-ending battle for guts and glory.  The tempo alternates between “beating you to death” and “beating you to death more” with a nice little melodic section near the end, followed by some more of the best riffs on the album.

Undercroft’s “The Killer Sword,” is a death metal album for people who like good things.  It's overly brutal or extreme but instead focuses on the best aspects of the genre’s roots.  If you like riffs (and if you don’t, why are you here?) then you need this album.  

Rating:  Great