Photo credit: Errick Easterday
Rochester, NY death metal outfit Undeath’s new album, It’s Time…To Rise From The Grave, arrived on April 22nd via Prosthetic Records. We caught up with vocalist Alex Jones to discuss their sophomore offering.
What was the process like recording It’s Time...To Rise From The Grave?
It was fine. I mean, above all else, it was just a great time. Compared to Lesions, our last album, we saw different times. We had a lot more time this time around to, you know, really chill in the studio and be much more deliberate. In the way that we approached tracking the album. There was a lot less of a frantic experience, but overall, it was a nice fun, chill
time.
How would you compare the new album to 2020’s Lesions of a Different Kind?
I think it’s a more streamlined version of Lesions in a lot of ways, you know, we didn’t want to repeat ourselves. We didn’t want to just go to the studio and create Lesions of a Different Kind Part two, we wanted to feel like, you know, a natural evolution and step up from everything that we had been doing before. And I feel like this new record is kind of like the logical next step for our band in a lot of ways.
How has the pandemic influenced the writing for the new record?
Oh, no, I don’t really think so. You know, I think that it influences certain things in our band for sure. It’s definitely an influence, like the way that we tour and the way our schedules in terms of playing shows and stuff. But as far as the writing process, I mean, we’ve always been a pretty diligent and disciplined band when it comes to writing, we’re always working on new stuff. We’re always cranking out new ideas and things like that. So having additional time to do that because of the pandemic was definitely a factor, but it’s something that we have been well into practice doing by that point for sure.
What songs were more challenging to write?
That’s a good question. The song on the record, Human Chandelier, was kind of one of the last ones to come together. And I think that song in particular had a lot of different iterations. And the riffs in that one, Kyle, was kind of like piecing together in different forms for a while. And I think it wasn’t exactly challenging to write it, but it definitely took the longest to come together as a completed song.
What was your experience creating the video for “Head Splattered in Seven Ways?”
It was awesome. I mean, we knew we wanted to have that particular video be a bit more gory and violent. It’s going to be shocking to watch. But we also didn’t want it to be like, you know, just like a snuff film. So we wanted it to still be enjoyable and fun for people. And we also wanted to do it locally. I think that was a big factor for us. We wanted to shoot it here in Rochester and thankfully McCann’s local Meats for a great little butcher shop like right around the corner from where I live. Actually, they were gracious enough to let us go in there and use their space for a day when they were closed and cover their kitchen space with fake blood and it was fun, it was a really good time.
What details can you share about the album cover artwork created by drummer Matt Browning?
Matt, is this kind of like our in-house album artist. I mean, we learned pretty early on, that he just has this really unique and distinct style and in terms of the way that he approaches his covers. And we kind of figured out in the very early stages of this band that he was going to be our guy. So pretty much from the first couple of demos, we just wanted every cover to feel like just to have a bigger scope, I guess to feel more of an involved singular piece of art. And with this new record, we wanted to retain that as the centerpiece. Like there was on Lesions of a Different Kind cover has that centerpiece of a guy getting his head cut off. And I think with his time, we want to retain that element. We wanted there to be something right in the center of the frame that drew your eye to the cover. But we just wanted there to be more going on. We want to expand the scope. And I think we were able to accomplish that. And I think for the next record, we’re going to try to expand out even further and try to try to make the scenario even bigger.
Do you have material ready for the next new album?
No, nothing completed at the moment. And, you know, we’ve got songs that are kind of like their early stages at the moment. We’ve got a lot of risk bouncing around. We’re always working on stuff but nothing really set in stone just yet. But there definitely is stuff formulating for the next album already, for sure.
How about the tour with Dying Fetus?
It started actually with Dying Fetus, Chelsea Grimm, Body Snatcher, and Frozen. Soul. It’s going to be a full US plus a bunch of Canada dates Yeah, I mean, we’re all excited about it, like Dying Fetus. I mean, all the bands we’re excited to go out with. Specifically Dying Fetus. It’s a massively influential band for me personally, you know, I’ve been a fan of that band since I was getting into death metal. Honestly, you know, I discovered them when I was about 16, 17 years old. And, you know, it’s, it’s kind of surreal to think that I’m about to be playing 35 shows in a row with them. Frozen Soul is also on the tour. They’re really good friends of ours. They’re kind of in the same wheelhouse as us. They’ve been coming up around the same time as us and they’re just a fucking killer death metal band that I’m so stoked to hang out with those guys and watch them play every night. I think that with every Undeath show we just try to bring a fun, inclusive, party atmosphere to the shows that we play. And I think on this tour in particular, I think that’s going to be very evident. We’re going to be playing a lot of new stuff and the new stuff really caters to that atmosphere that we’re trying to create.
Is there anything else you want to say or add about the new album?
Honestly, you know, all I got to say is if you liked Lesions and if you have been keeping up with our band and I don’t think there’s any reason why you dislike this new record, I think you’re going to be really stoked about it. I think anybody who is even remotely interested in whatever Undeath has been doing is going to be very excited when they hear this whole thing. So I’m stoked for people to get their hands on it.
