Interview with UNDEAD

Hi! UNDEAD has a distinct horror-tinged flare in your music. How did you develop this aesthetic and what inspires your lyrical themes?
We love horror and its aesthetic and atmosphere, especially from classic horror movies. Death metal and horror has always been a perfect combination, although our lyrics don’t usually go strictly that way, and when they are horror themed is more of an existential/philosophical kind more than gory or campfire stories.

With the Spanish Death Metal scene gaining recognition, how does UNDEAD contribute to the advancement of the genre, and what sets you apart from other bands?
There are a lot of good bands in Spain, but I never really cared about what others do when it comes to write music for my own band. I’m in no competition with anyone but myself. We just do what we do, and play what we want to play. We try to honor those who did it before us but always with an eye into the future. I guess trying to keep things fresh and honest and although, of course, there’s always an inspiration, we try not to walk the same path those bands did before and trying to do things our own way is probably what would set us apart, maybe? I mean, death metal, is a niche kind of music, the only thing you can do to keep it interesting is being yourself. I’m not here to reinvent the wheel but neither to follow the rules set by others.

Can you share the creative process behind your sophomore full-length album, “Putrefactio”? How did you approach the songwriting and recording to capture the desired atmosphere?
We approached the composition of this album the same way as we always did, nothing fancy or crazy, just the boring and at the same time fascinating act of sitting with your guitar and just hope something cool comes from the world of ideas, and if you devote enough time and effort, something always comes up. When we started writing for this album we had no idea what would come up or what kind of songs or sound or whatever, we just let the album make itself in a way. Sounds like hippie bullshit but is really how it usually goes for us. We try not to force anything.

“Putrefactio” takes influence from Old School Death Metal. How do you bring a fresh perspective and add your own unique touch to a genre with a rich history?
As I said, I think the only thing you can do if you really want to keep things fresh in a genre where seems like everything’s said and done, is to be honest and do the things that YOU want to do. Inspiration is there, the past is there and others did and amazing job but what do we really want to express right now? This is OUR own interpretation of how this music should be done. Just our own honest perspective.

Your debut album, “Existential Horror,” received international praise. How did the positive response impact the band’s trajectory and approach to the new album?
I’m not gonna lie, there’s always some vertigo when you start writing for a new project, and I loved Existential Horror so much that when we started working on Putrefactio I asked myself how we were going to top what we did. But I let those thoughts go away quickly, and just trust the process. We still have a lot to say musically so although a blank canvas is sometimes scary, I knew something would come up, and it did, and now I love Putrefactio too and I think it was a natural evolution for Existential Horror.

The global pandemic had an impact on live shows. How did it feel to finally manifest your music on stage after the restrictions were lifted? Can you share any memorable live experiences?
We released our first album on Halloween 2019 and we had a lot of gigs booked for 2020 and most of them went to hell with the pandemic. It was a blow, as it was for other bands in our same situation, and we’re still in a way trying to recover from that. When we were able to play live in 2021 there were still some restrictions here in Spain and we played in a theater with people seated with masks… it was weird as fuck for an extreme metal show, but we were just so glad to be able to finally play live that I didn’t really care. I’d play hanging from the ceiling with a rope if at least I can play live. Now I don’t take any show for granted, I’m just happy to be able to do what I love the most any time I can.

The title “Putrefactio” carries a strong meaning. Can you elaborate on the concept behind the album and how it relates to the music and overall theme of UNDEAD?
I’m in no way an expert, only a forever student, but as a fast description I’d say Putrefactio is the start of a transformative process, the decomposition to reduce to the essential, the beginning of a journey to the dark subconscious in search for the gold, knowledge and wisdom. The stage of dying to later be reborn at a higher level of understanding. The road to enlightenment starts with this destructive process. Dissolve and Unite, Death and Rebirth. Of course there’s more depth to all of this and I urge to anybody interested about it to investigate about alchemy and its process in a more profound way on their own.

How has the evolution of UNDEAD’s sound and style developed from your earlier self-released EPs to the current state of the band? What elements have remained consistent and what new elements have you introduced?
I think the most noticeable when you listen to our discography is the sound improvement. Every release sounds better than its predecessor but in a natural way. I guess the punk spirit of how we started is still there but maybe in a more refined way…I don’t know, I suck at analyzing our own music haha There’s been an organic evolution in general and I like to see it now with some perspective. We sound more Undead than ever, if that makes any sense.

The album artwork for “Putrefactio” is visually striking. Can you tell us about the collaboration with the artist and the symbolism depicted in the artwork?
We asked Chris/Misanthropic Art to do our cover and just told him the album title and gave him all the creative freedom. He soon came up with this idea based on the classic Alchemical painting from the 1600s and we loved it. He did and amazing job.

UNDEAD’s music has been described as impenetrable and bulky, with addictive thrashy energy. How do you achieve this sound in your songwriting and production process?
Is just what we do haha. I’m glad you say thrashy, because, specially for me Thrash Metal was a fundamental genre in my teenage years, so that influence will always be there subconsciously. That’s how I conceive this extreme music thing to be. It’s gotta be fast, thick, dark and a fist to the face… if that’s what we feel when we’re writing new riffs, then that stays. If it gets messy and the riff is good but the song is going nowhere and is taking too long to finish it we discard it. We need the violent feeling of “I want to smash some furniture” when we listen to an Undead song. That’s basically the criteria. Based on feelings and emotions more than on technical or premeditation.

The band’s goal is to achieve total world domination with your noxious corruption. How do you plan to spread your music and reach a wider audience?
Right now we’re focused on play live. We’re still a very DIY band and we don’t have a booking agent right now, so things are slower and more difficult for us this way, but basically the goal is to play everywhere they want to hear us (or not)

Can you share some insights into the live performances of UNDEAD? How do you create an immersive and intense experience for your audience?
We care about aesthetics and atmosphere, as for us, is all part of the same experience. We have our own modest set of lights that we take everywhere, and our own ambient sounds, but I won’t spoil it giving too much details. Our shows are very energetic mixed with a gloomy atmosphere and violence. You’re all welcome to come and see it by yourselves if you have the chance!

In the world of extreme metal, what are some of the main challenges you face as a band, and how do you overcome them?
Right now is not the best time to be in a band… from saturation of bands to crazy high prices on transportation, venues, etc. In general is really hard to sustain a band of any genre. Within the extreme metal we’re “lucky” we’re a small but generally committed community. But right now, despite the “help” internet gave us all, is still difficult to reach the audience out there without a budget and dedicating your 24 hrs to that goal and to feed the algorithm gods. The problem could be resumed in a lack of money, as money will solve everything in this capitalistic world we’re living… so, that’s a difficult challenge to overcome… maybe destroying capitalism would be a solution… I’m definitely here for it.

Are there any specific bands or artists, both within and outside the metal genre, that have had a significant influence on your music and artistic vision?
I don’t know specifically… I could name Metallica and Black Sabbath, who were the pillars for me when I started, but the road was long from there and I could name a thousand, so it would probably be faster if I say that every band I’ve ever listened or admired influenced me artistically in a way or another… but so has every museum I visited or films I watched, books I’ve read or places I’ve visited. As long as I connect with it and makes me feel something is an artistic influence in a way.

Looking to the future, what are your aspirations for UNDEAD? Are there any particular goals or milestones you hope to achieve with your music?
I personally have many ambitions but no expectations, so I just want to keep playing live all that we can and keep writing good riffs, as long as Undead connects with people in some kind of way and I can keep doing this I will be happy.

Some non music related questions. How does the contemplation of death shape our understanding of life’s meaning and purpose?
Death is inevitable. Is the only certainty in life. If you find comfort with that fact you’ll be able to live a more meaningful life. Being aware of our mortality helps us find our priorities and purpose. The thought of Death is always fascinating, because is a great mystery, and people are scared of what they don’t know, but we all will some day.

In exploring the philosophy of Satanism, what are the key principles and beliefs that challenge societal norms and encourage individual empowerment?
For me Satanism, among other spiritual paths, means freedom. I made my life a quest for freedom and I usually find it in what society thinks is dark, taboo and even forbidden. Satanism defies societal norms because it is an opposition to them and most of the people are not ready for freedom. They say they want it but to be really free means to take full responsibility, embrace the darkest parts of your humanity and detach and destroy your ego. It’s an uncomfortable and often misunderstood path not for everyone.

Can chaos and disorder coexist with order and harmony in the human experience, and if so, how does this interplay influence personal growth and creativity?
Yes, I mean, we already live everyday with that duality, and that may be the reason why we don’t know shit about the universe and our role in it. Creation tends to entropy, but our human brain is always looking for order. Humanity is trying to understand the creation with a rational limited mind. In terms of creativity and personal growth I think is crucial to embrace chaos. Chaos is movement and change. That’s where all the good ideas are. With change comes new challenges and a new vision and way of doing things. The path appears as we walk.

What role does hate play in human nature, and how can individuals and societies transform and channel this emotion towards constructive and positive outcomes? Thank you for your time!
Hate is a powerful emotion with a fantastic destructive force. Great to create violent music or helpful to stand up for yourself and create boundaries. But I know too well that a lot of times hate masks fear and even grief. It can make you feel falsely empowered but If you’re stuck in constant hate It can make you weak and manipulable and you don’t even realise, specially if that hate is tied to a person or a determined situation, because then that situation or people will own you, and is a terrible thing to be enslaved by what you hate. Use your hate wisely.

Thank you for the support and the insightful questions.