Their last album got a 7.5, meaning it was well done, but not worth the hype it got. Can they surpass that this time around? Well for a band that likes to call out Chris Barnes on the internet, they still sound a great deal like Cannibal Corpse, though perhaps marginally less this time around but two songs in makes it feel like a very thin margin. There have really been some great death metal albums out this year, so these guys have a lot to compete with or get blown out of the water by the likes of 200 Stab Wounds. "Brandish the Blade' takes a more powerful stab at this than the first two songs, which felt more color by numbers death metal, where the vocals have more purpose here and the song executes effective punches.
They are in a tug-of-war with themselves and often come up against the rule here which is ...cool riffs alone does not a good song make. Granted even Cannibal Corpse runs up against this from time to time, but they are superior songwriters. If you feel like this is an unfair comparison, this is Undeath's third album. Cannibal Corpse's third album was "Tomb of the Mutilated". When I reviewed Cannibal Corpse's entire discography back in June of this year, that album got a 9.5, so let's see how this weighs against it. 'Cramped Caskets" has more groove to it, so that is a step in the right direction. They tend to pour on the speed and rush things like many other death metal bands who are in the struggle between songwriting and tempering the brutality with dynamics that do not threaten the hyper-aggressive core of the genre.
The song "Bounty Hunter" displays a crucial element that is make or break for these guys. The question posed is 'Do the vocals matter". They do matter on "Bounty Hunter" which makes it one of the album's best songs if not THE best song. On "Wailing Cadavers " I notice the vocals take on more of an Obituary like howl so at least they are switching it up. They also do some interesting things riff-wise on the song after this, and the vocals continue to show promise. Until they pour on the speed and rush things, but they use restraint and only throw it in for a second. The last song also finds them being more deliberate, which is key. When death metal first came out it emerged from thrash bands, so they learned the value of hooky guitar parts. I will give this album a 9, as it's a huge improvement when it comes to songwriting, and shows these guys can kick ass when they set their insane minds to it. Not the best death metal album of the year, but a damn fine one that is worth a listen.
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