UMUR "Søm til din ligkiste" ("Nails for your coffin") is an EP release by Danish death metal act Undergang. The EP was released through Me Saco un Ojo Records in August 2013. It bridges the gap between Undergang´s second- and third full-length studio albums "Til døden os skiller" (2012) and "Døden læger alle sår" (2015).

"Søm til din ligkiste" features three tracks and a total playing time of 12:23 minutes. All material on the EP is exclusive to this release. "Obduction" ("Autopsy") and "Afrevne lemmer" ("Torn limbs") show Undergang playing shorter more direct old school death metal with a Swedish death metal influence not heard that much on earlier releases. It´s still rotten, filthy, and gore drenched death metal with low in the mix unintelligible growling and sometimes higher pitched juicy screaming vocals, but just slightly different from what came before.

"Rædselsfuld" ("Terrible") concludes the EP and it´s a longer and slower death/doom oriented metal track which is crushingly heavy and slugish, but no less brutal and slimey than the first couple of tracks. "Søm til din ligkiste" is well produced featuring the right gloomy, raw, and gritty production values, which perfectly suits the material.

Upon conclusion "Rædselsfuld" is the highlight of the EP and the two slightly faster and shorter tracks aren´t quite as developed nor as intriguing and varied as the longer closing track, but they are still good quality old school death metal and they both bear the unmistakable mark of being Undergang songs. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Hævntørst" is a single release by Danish death metal act Undergang. The single was released through Dark Descent Records/Me Saco Un Ojo Records in April 2011. It´s a one-track single bridging the gap between Undergang´s debut- and sophomore full-length studio albums "Indhentet af Døden" (2010) and "Til døden os skiller" (2012). The "Hævntørst" track is exclusive to this release.

While "Hævntørst" wasn´t released as a single until April 2011 (as a promotional item to support Undergang´s first US West Coast tour in May and June 2011), the track was already recorded during the fall of 2009 and it originally appeared on the various artists "Voices of death" (2009) compilation tape by Baphometal records.

Stylistically it´s a classic Undergang track featuring both fast-paced, mid-paced, and doomy old school death metal sections. The vocals are unintelligible slimy growling and the Danish lyrics are drenched in gore. So it´s exactly what you expect from Undergang and as always they deliver this type of death metal with both the right kind of filthy passion and conviction. While at times it may sound simple, savage, and primal, these guys are great musicians with the right set of skills to pull this off. Many artists have tried their hands at playing the most basic old school death metal, but few manage it as well as Undergang.

"Hævntørst" features a rotten, brutal, yet detailed sounding production job, and it´s perfect for this type of music. So upon conclusion this is a good quality old school death metal single by Undergang and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "T.D.O.S." is a demo recording by Danish death metal act Undergang. It´s a promo tape released in 2011 featuring rough-track versions of two tracks from the then forthcoming album "Til Døden os Skiller" (February 2012, Xtreem Music). So there´s nothing new here if you already own "Til Døden os Skiller" other than a couple of tracks featuring a less polished production job than the versions featured on the subsequent album release.

"T.D.O.S." features the tracks "Til Døden os Skiller" and "Opløste Ådsler" and as described above these are just less complete and unpolished versions of the same tracks from the "Til Døden os Skiller" album. Although these are demo versions of the songs, they are still pretty well produced. The sound production is murky, raw, and brutal, but still well defined and effective. This is not a primitive lo-fi demo recording. While I do prefer the more well rounded studio versions featured on the subsequent studio album, these rough versions are still worth a listen. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Evigt Lidende" is the first demo recording by Danish death metal act Undergang. The demo was recorded shortly after the formation of Undergang, but remained unreleased until 2018. It´s a one-track demo which was only meant as a test demo and the "Evigt Lidende" track was subsequently re-recorded and included on the 2009 "Indhentet af Døden" (later released as Undergang´s debut album).

If you expect a lo-fi recording as a result of this being a very early demo recording by Undergang, you couldn´t be more wrong. "Evigt Lidende" is a well produced old school death metal track, featuring heavy, brutal, and filthy sounding guitars and drumming, sewer growling, and a good understanding of effectful songwriting. The version of the track which ended up on "Indhentet af Døden" is slightly more well produced and had matured a couple of months too, but other than that this version is still the quality old school death metal sound of Undergang and actually a pretty impressive first recording by the band. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

optisailor2002 Undergang's debut release Indhentet af Døden hit me like a fucking wall of concrete when it was first released back in 2010, with the crushing sound that the band giving the listener the feeling as though the band were intent on leaving no survivors by the end of the album. This year sees the band unleashing their second full length album, Til Døden os Skiller, complete with that same sick style of artwork that their debut had, and naturally, hopes are extremely high for this one.

And as expected, right from the opening track Opløste Ådsler the band is merciless. The soft intro is but a false facade behind which the band hides, and the lone guitar that soon comes in is a sign for the listener to brace for the incoming impact. Following the style that the band has set on Indhentet af Døden, the music on Til Døden os Skiller is not particularly fast, though the band focusses on the intensity in the music, not only in terms of the heavy and crushing guitar tone and riffs, but also through that suffocating atmosphere that they have managed to conjure which is maintained throughout the entirety of the album. The constant alternation between faster and the sudden transition into a slow and doom-paced section without warning also leaves a deep impact on the listener, leaving the listener feeling as though being hung from a cliff, such as on tracks like Håbet Er Ligblegt. Also, unlike many of their death metal counterparts, the focus on Til Døden os Skiller is on the riffs, with the noticeable lack of lead sections on any of the instruments, and this also helps in allowing the band's tightness as a unit shine.

There are some tweaks that the band has included compared to their debut Indhentet af Døden though, with one prominent difference being the inclusion of numerous sound samples that are littered throughout the album, giving the album a somewhat horror/gore film feel with a storyline that one wish he could understand (pardon the language barrier here). Perhaps due to the inclusion of these sound samples, Til Døden os Skiller has a considerably longer runtime than Indhentet af Døden. This release also sees the band pushing their limits as musicians even further. For example, it still leaves me wondering how David Torturdöd manages to produce those hellish vocals while unleashing those brutal-as-fuck riffs at the same time. The band has this time also included a twist towards the end of the album, with closing track Kadavermarch being an instrumental, slowly fading out into an acoustic section, bringing about an odd sense of calm in the listener after an intensive 45 minute journey.

If you like bands like Cemetery Urn and Ignivomous but wished that they somehow managed to produce a heavier sounding record, then be sure to check out Undergang. Fuck technical wankery and flamboyant showing off, Undergang will show listeners what brutality really is.

Originally written for http://www.heavymetaltribune.com/