Review by Carl on April 16, 2020.

There's more in this album than you would expect from just looking at the band's name and album title. It's as nasty as you would expect from a metal band from the Southern American continent, but if you take your time and give this some repeated spins, there are some other details that can be heard in the overall offering, making this a more varied affair than you would think.

The band deliver their attack with energy and conviction. The main influence in their sound is the primitive thrash/death metal from the 80's with the Brazilian thrashers of yore as keystone. In the faster parts there's the undeniable influence of Sarcofago and Sextrash and the vocals remind me of bands as Expulser, early Sepultura or Psychic Possessor. The riffing is straight from the school of Possessed and there's quite some Destruction to be heard as well. The band don't shy away from incorporating some speed metal orientated stuff either, the names of Agent Steel and Whiplash popped up in my mind on occasion. Furthermore, there is a generous helping of Scandinavian black metal in there as well, as evidenced in tracks like 'Sacred Fire' and 'Black Spirits of Revenge'. The guitars here have that same venomous bite that can be found in the early works of Gorgoroth and Immortal, and the band know how to fuse these sounds into their South American framework. For the most part that is, though: unfortunately, a couple of the songs lose some of their power by that same Scandinavian riffing. These tracks just sound too "nice", losing some of the menace that the band generally exudes.

This is a more than decent black/thrash/death metal album with great production, it's just unfortunate that there are a couple of songs on here that lack the power to totally convince. Personally, I would've liked it more if the Scandinavian black metal in their sound had taken more of a backseat in favor of their primitive thrashing influences. It would have packed more of a punch in my opinion. Still, if you're into blackened metal like Nocturnal Graves, Extirpation, Degial and others of the kind, this album will not disappoint.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by JD on May 15, 2012.

Unsigned bands are the backbone of metal, I have said that -and stand behind it one hundred percent. Many bands have come along, fuelled my imagination - and they then go on to become major influences on the next batches of bands. That is how you keep music growing and advancing to the next level.

Undead Pandemic is a one man Gore/Grind band from the UK. It is a work of sonic destruction that has this not-too-subtle Black Metal vibe going through it. With all of this going, you think this band has some great possibilities ... in truth, it is a project that fails to deliver on every aspect. It is pure noise, and not the good Noisecore or others, it is purely noise.

With fourteen tracks on the album - it was fourteen purely uninspired attempts at making Extreme Metal which falls into the category of just being plainly shit. Listening to the album, you can't ignore the non existent recording values, the absurd use of over amounts of synthesisers and the over usage of sampling. Let us talk about the bad arrangements which slaps Extreme Metal, as well as all other Extreme styles in the face. I like heavy noisy music, but this is like sitting down and listening to a garbage disposal for three days straight.

Whoever this Ben Murphy is... a word to you. Either learn how to write music, or simply stop. Do the metal world a service, and get a job digging ditches or something - leave the music to people who have talent and drive to make it all happen. You make metal look like just noise, you make the underground music scene look that way too. Let us who know what we are doing do the work.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship:1
Atmosphere: 0
Production: 0
Originality: 0
Overall: 1

Rating: 0.4 out of 10