The phrase “unlooked-for” fits Turkey’s UNDOER like a black, fingerless glove. Only a year out of the gate, the trio self-released Survival Is A Myth late 2018, streaking low under the radar of those (myself included) who weren’t paying enough attention, but should’ve been. It’s the nature of the beast circa 2018-19, however. The press/media is bloated with our own ego-driven elitism, fancying ourselves the watchguards of taste, so it’s unavoidable but – let’s be honest here – unfortunate that sometimes entire bands literally going supernova with quality exist in the exile of our oblivion.

Wisely snapped up for wide(r) release by Sun & Moon Records, UNDOER’s debut sears its way into your consciousness within the first minute of ‘Vertical Lines’, very nearly entwining itself around the listener’s viscera, so organic, yet surgical in its intrusion. Layer upon layer of blackness builds, then is deconstructed slowly, excruciatingly [2:31-3:39], only to veer into what in most any other band would be called a noise tangent of AmRep proportions…only nothing is tangental here, for UNDOER there are simply no wanderings. Everything, from the martial crush, the orgiastic blood-of-our-enemies wallow ‘A New Anthem’ (“We will bury you to the swamps, every part, different moss. The stench, the filth, the fault, begone.”) to the blistering boil, the thousand-knives-slicing of ‘Foul Gathering’ is intentional in the extreme. Here, stellar musicianship is wedded to memorable songcraft in a way I haven’t heard within the realm of black metal thus far this year. To be fair, I should’ve written this last Fall, but no time like the present, I suppose.

Aside from SICULICIDIUM and BLAZE OF SORROW, I haven’t availed myself of Sun & Moon Records’ other offerings for the most part, but with the consistency I’m hearing come from the label of late, this is something I may have to begin to remedy. Inviolate, rigid to the point of unyielding. With a such a starting point as Survival Is A Myth, where UNDOER goes from here may well be boundless. Here’s hoping…
Review By: Lord Randall

UNDOER
Survival Is A Myth
Sun & Moon Records
5 / 6