Seattle is world-known mainly as the birthplace of the so-called Grunge music but there is also a good extreme Metal scene that comes out of this city. UNDULATION is one of the examples for that. The band plays Black metal and "An Unhealthy Interest in Suffering" is their debut EP. This is a female-fronted band, behind the mike is a girl who goes by the nickname The Executioner and she delivers an impressive vocal performance.

The beginning of this EP is set by the intro "Amethyst Necropolis (Une Chargone)" where the instruments slowly gain power and The Executioner's spoken theme where she talks about her "decomposed love". After the intro comes "Judith Beheading Holofernes" which starts as a slow Black metal tune with raspy vocals but after a while the tempo accelerates and you can also hear some deep Death metal growls. Definitely this song has some DARKTHRONE in it but with a little more melody. I can also hear some IMMOLATION in the guitar parts which are performed by the axemen Nelson Payne and Dylan 'Dahlia' Berry. "Undulator" is the third track of the EP and is a pretty aggressive one, there is a certain BURZUM influence in it but with much better guitar lead work. "Failures of the Demiurge" follows and it starts with gentle guitar melodies and the clean soaring vocals of The Executioner. Then the track evolves into an aggressive and fast Black metal sonic attack of peeling guitar riffs and deranged screams. "Acid, Vinegar" continues the audio rage with fast-paced spiteful tunes but in the middle of the song some mellow mood sets in and more clean singing takes place just to grow into painful screaming vocals. The end of this EP comes with "Dressed for Her Execution" and this was the first time while listening to this release where I could hear the bass parts playes by Seth Death. The drum work of Zach Purtell should also have a mention because he change the pace from slow to fast with ease and offers some interesting drum parts.

The cover artwork of "An Unhealthy Interest in Suffering" is totally oldschool Death metal which is a big plus in my book and their logo is hilarious to say the least, try to read it, I dare you! The sound production is raw just like on the Black metal releases in the beginning of the 90's. UNDULATION doesn't offer anything revolutionary in the genre but the music is interesting enough so if you are into Black metal 'Made in USA' then you can give this release a chance!