Outsiders of Metal scene can think that Metalheads have a kind of obsession with death, what’s not true, even when Death Metal (due its usual lyrical contents). But some fans and bands seem to love causing such reactions sometimes. It’s clear that death can become a concept to be used (METALLICA did it wisely on “Ride the Lightning”), but it seems that the Swedish quartet UNDECAYED is obsessed by Death Metal, as heard on “In Death’s Image”. It's not a sin to have the idea that the band is saying ‘we are a Death Metal act, and we are proud of it’, because musically is what they are: a traditional Death Metal act with influences from USA Death Metal School, especially from acts from Florida as DEICIDE, MONSTROSITY, CANNIBAL CORPSE and others in the sense that the genre is a way to describe ‘aggressiveness-being-spill-to-all-sides-and-fuck-you’.

It’s not exaggeratedly technical (but’s not something simple as well), and it’s solid, aggressive and full of energy; but the quartet needs to mature a bit more in the future. It’s good, but they can do better. The sonority chosen for “In Death’s Image” follows the model used by the great part of Death Metal acts, but trying to sound as defined as possible to be fully understood by the fans. It’s a very good result, but a choice for better sets of instrumental tunes could be made. And what a sickening graphic artwork for the cover.

The joke about obsession by death comes from the fact of the songs’ titles have the word ‘death’, but it doesn’t mean any harm to what is heard on “The World Shall Know Only Death”, “Death’s Only Demand”, “The Descendants of Death”, “In Death’s Image”, “Death Shall Come (Death Shall Prevail)”, “Death’s Pallid Coat”, “World at Death’s Door”, “Entreating Death in Vain” and “The Greatest Death”. The band shows very good guitar riffs and arrangements, good technical appeal on the rhythmic shifts from bass guitar and drums, and ‘copsegrindean’ tunes on the death growls of the vocals, but need to sharp a bit more their efforts in the future.

“In Death’s Image” is their first-full length, so UNDECAYED still has time for maturing. And potential to do that isn’t the problem for the quartet.