Search - Undying :: Whispered Lies of Angels

Charged, insane, melodic blackmetal for a new age.

Billy Callis | Wyoming, Ohio USA | 11/26/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When my friend first told me about Undying, and he said they were vegan, straightedge blackmetal, I thought it was a funny idea. Only wacky, generic, underground hardcore bands sang about being vegan (not eating animal products) and straightedge (not doing drugs)-- or so I thought. Blackmetal, on the other hand, tends to be self-absorbed, dark, mythical, overdramatic, and often orchestral, usually with epic lyrics and high-pitched, distorted guitars and screamed vocals. But it was a novelty for me and all my scene-crazy friends to see the two combined. When I first heard my friend's tape of Undying, I wasn't too surprised: It had melodic, fast-paced yet brutal guitar work, over-the-top, breathlessly screamed vocals, and... well, I had to take my friend's word for it that they were vegan and straightedge. But after riding in the car with it playing and really getting into the rhythmic, driving insanity of it, something about it stuck with me. The music of it was amazing. I borrowed his tape (which was made from another tape) and taped it myself, over old Hootie and the Blowfish I got in 5th grade and never listened to. Now, I listen to it almost regularly, and it's not hard to see how blackmetal and hardcore meet in Undying: I've read the lyrics, and they're quite intelligent and insightful, with historical and sociological tones. Yet the way they're presented- just look at the title of the album, Whispered Lies of Angels- is totally blackmetal. The music itself has rumbling, powerful, distorted guitar, with melodic, electric guitar cascading over it- but it's much more frugal than most blackmetal in its production, and because of the intense passion of the band, it's far more energetic and far more brutal, yet positive at the same time. Overall, it has an amazing, driving force, which is all the more amazing considering it's a bunch of hardcore kids from the East Coast, and not accomplished, rich heavy metal virtuosos. The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is that I literally can't tell one song from the next. I recommend this album to vegans, straightedgers, sociologists, hardcore kids, and all fans of punk and metal, as well as lumberjacks, small children, hockey players and rodents."