UNDERGANG (Eng.)

– Hello, thanks for answering to our questions. What are you guys currently up to?
Right now we’re working on getting the last shows booked for our upcoming European tour with Australian StarGazer, that’ll take place from July 9th-27th and amongst more regular shows will have us play at Metal Magic Festival and Chaos Descends festival. I’m very much looking forward to be back on the road and excited to see StarGazer live. Their latest album have pretty much daily been spinning on my turntable since I bought the record.

2- First off, could you make some history of the band?
We started the band back in 2008 originally intended to be a 5 piece, but when the intended vocalist and bassist didn’t show up for our first rehearsals we made some changes and made it work as a 3 piece instead. A decision I’m very pleased with us making back then when it comes to it, though it was my first band doing low vocals in which was a bit terrifying in the beginning to be honest, haha. We recorded our debut album «Indhentet af Døden» during the winter of 2008/2009 and had it released on LP by Me Saco Un Ojo by January 2010. Since then we did a lot of tours, released a second album on Xtreem Music in 2012, «Til Døden Os Skiller», toured some more and did some smaller releases and now we’re about to have our third album released through Dark Descent (CD) and Me Saco Un Ojo (LP). The new album is, in my opinion, the best material and production we’ve had on an album so far, so we’re looking forward to have it spread to the masses an go out and tour on the new album.

 
3- How could you describe your sound?

As super heavy, ugly and gritty death metal. Sometimes slow, sometimes fast and always disgusting.

 
4- What are the band’s main musical influences?
Mainly a lot of our favorite demos and early albums of classic bands who helped shape the death metal scene back in the late 80’s and early 90’s. But some parts are also influenced by other genres like punk or various rock.

 
– How is the feedback for your new album being?
Well, it’s not officially out yet so we haven’t had any feedback on it so far. I guess we’ll have to wait two months still before we know if we should go back to our hiding place in the sewers or prepare to run naked through the streets with people shouting our names in joy.

 
6- And are your personally satisfied with the final outcome?
Oh yeah, definitely! We’ve always had a rather fun time in the studio recordings our filth, but this last album has been a whole new experience and a rather good one! We decided to try out something new and asked a friend from California who I knew had a studio and had recorded several bands that I liked, if he’d be interested in working together with us at the end of our full US tour during the summer of 2014. Luckily he was up for it, so when the tour ended in Oakland we met up with him two days after and started the recording process of «Døden Læger Alle sår». The engineer was Greg Wilkinson and was recorded and partially mixed in his Earhammer studio in Oakland over the course of 10 days. The sound is possibly heavier than we’ve been ever been before and the dynamics are sick as we got to record all instruments live together and only dubbed extra guitars and vocals to it. I think it has gotten a rather organic sound that suits our music very well. We’ve also had our first real guest performance on the new album done by none other than Autopsy’s Eric Cutler. Something I’m very honored about myself as Autopsy has been my favorite death metal band since I was a wee teen. It’s also the first real solo there has ever been on an Undergang album, haha. Check out the madness at the outro to the album! Also, the mastering done by Dan Lowndes at Resonance Sound Studio is worth pointing out. That cat sure knows what he’s doing and I can only recommend him and Greg for any other bands out there! They’re at the top of their game.

 
– How could you describe this opus in just 3 words?
Decomposing Sewer Death.

– How has the production process for your new release been?
Hehe, guess I already covered that a bit. But it’s been good! It was a treat working with Greg in Earhammer and we all three stayed there during our recording session too (and even had time to go out on a trip and go swimming in a lake one of the days) and he was the most dedicated studio engineers I’ve ever worked with! Even when the rest of us got drunk and held parties at his place in the night time, he was still sitting in the control room working on our mix every night and went up early the next day and started working on it again while we were still lying cramped up like fetuses with our hangovers. I have only good words to say about that studio and Greg. TOTAL SUPPORT! Once we had decided on the final mix I send the recordings to Dan at Resonance Sound Studio and even though he himself was busy recording a new album with his own band, Cruciamentum, he still took time to work our our album in-between studio days. So that went really smooth and the product is DEAD heavy and slimy as it should be for Undergang! And working with DDR and MSUO has been awesome, they’re 100% supportive and we had free hands on the layout and our wishes for the printing. So, as you probably did get form this, I’m pretty much all around satisfied with how things have gone and I almost can’t wait to have the final product in my greasy paws.

 
– And how do you use to work on the songwriting?
Most of the time I come up with the riffs at home on my acoustic guitar and then we I have enough pieces ready to put them together into a song I bring those ideas down to rehearsal and shape them into a song with our drummer. Other times something just appears while playing another riff at rehearsal and a new song will start taking shape. A few times when I’ve been stagnating trying to write riffs our drummer (who is a more skilled guitarist than I am) comes up with some ideas that triggers me into coming up with something «better», haha. No matter how it’s starts out it’s always the two of us shaping the songs into place for starters and then have our bassist join in and add the bass to it, which mainly just follows the guitars and adds more heaviness to it, and we then try to come up with a suiting title for the song, often based on the mood. Then I write lyrics for it at home and bring them down to rehearsal and make them fit the patterns I’ve formed for the song in my head. And that’s pretty much our song writing process!

 
– Finally, what are you near-future plans?
To crush our enemies, to see them driven before us, and to hear the lamentations of their women. But more importantly to keep writing music and tour the world. I’m having way too much fun to stop now, just you try and stop me!

 
– That’s all from our side, thanks again for taking your time to answer our questions. If you now want to add some final words; feel free to do it.
Thank YOU for having us back! All the best of luck to the Queens of Steel from here.
If in Europe, be sure to check out our tour if we come by a city near you. «Døden Læger Alle Sår» will be promoted on the tour and sold for the first time at our shows too (unless you use our labels online mailorder, of course!) and stay tuned for more sickness coming from our guts in the future. We’re nowhere done, long live the new flesh!

 
In Disgust,
D. Torturdød / Undergang
May 2015

www.darkdescentrecords.com
www.mesacounojo.com
www.undergang.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/undergangktdm