Undrask
Battle Through Time
(Self-Release)
Battle Through Time really shouldn’t work as well as it does. It’s a debut concept album about a seemingly dorky storyline (death, time travel, epic fights, and alternate realities are all referenced), and the promo materials reference Amon Amarth and In Flames. I was so ready for Undrask’s debut to be a silly little melodeath (or more likely, a power metal) release that was more hokey that anything else. My initial listen showcased a power-tinged melodeath group that was talented but somewhat unremarkable. Well, expectations and early impressions can be funny sometimes.
In spite of how much Battle Through Time shouldn’t work in theory, holy shit, this album is a real blast when you give it time to open up. Sure, the touchstones mentioned above still fit, but Undrask’s version of melodeath offers up a nice dose of progressive flourishes and a nice symphonic flair as well. Riffs occasionally break away from the very melodic emphasis to reveal a nice heaviness, and extended solos are the rule, not the exception. I’m often reminded of Becoming the Archetype and Hope For The Dying, as well as more classic prog, like Symphony X; these added prog touches result in a concept album that actually feels like it should be ingested all at once, to appreciate all the flavor Undrask gives the listener. That rings very true, considering it takes about half the album for Battle Through Time to really win you over.
Interestingly, it’s the (only in relative terms) worst song on the album, “Longhammer”, with its desire to fully embrace the silliness of its story and fantasy elements and a hook that works but also feels out of place. This (again, relative) low-light enforces how much you’ve been sucked into Undrask’s world. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the remaining four songs are even stronger than what came before it, sinking Battle Through Time‘s hooks even deeper.
It’s hard to overstate this, but this record contains some of the most fun melodeath in a long while; it’s not that this young band is out there reinventing the melodic wheel or rejuvenating a stale genre; instead, it’s clear that Undrask is just doing what they love and having an absolute blast doing so. It takes a little time to get into the record, but I can imagine a lot of casual metal fans writing off the band by sight or initial sound alone, and they’re clearly missing out on one of the most enjoyable melodeath albums I’ve heard in a long time. This isn’t an innovative band blazing new trails; this album is a love letter to a style, and it’s mighty persuasive.
