After so thoroughly documenting the distortion of the psyche through their own brand of hypnotic chromatic judder Loures, Portugal-based death metal quartet UNDERSAVE now turn toward the mind’s grotesque entanglement with the corporeal on this abstract yet fundamentally sound third full-length album. Pressurized by a heightened technical standard yet given kinetic spark by increased dissonant fuse ‘Merged in Abstract Perdition‘ upholds the band’s high standards while transforming their work unto increasing finesse, retaining their adjacency to the morbid psychosis of pure death metal while nonetheless serving mutation of it. As was the case with each of their past releases every iteration, or, reconfiguration serves much improved expression of their darkly introspective vision.

Undersave formed as a trio ca. 2004 with vocalist/guitarist Nuno Braz being the sole consistent member, and assumedly main composer, of the group since. That original trio would soon produce what was essentially a first demo (‘Domestication of Human Race‘, 2005) which features some manner of grinding death metal which featured odd or just off-time experimentation lead by thrashing, maybe earlier Krisiun or Terrorizer inspired drumming. You’ll find a superior version of the band’s rhythmic sensibilities on the far more technically sound attack of their debut EP (‘After the Domestication Comes the Manipulation‘, 2008) where the style again recalled a late 90’s/early 2000’s pressure towards brutal and incendiary death metal extremes. Undersave‘s debut LP (‘Now…Submit Your Flesh To The Master’s Imagination‘, 2012) revealed an exponentially more competent band that’d crossed the line between brutal, technical and general ‘old school’ death metal inspired style with its own tightly rhythmic knack.

The band’s development of personal signature generally revolved around frantic rhythmic movement, sprinting threads of propeller-handed thrum at a lawnmower chop, a homespun form of technical death metal which became more impressive (and coherent) with each pass. That style extended into the increasingly murky dread of their sophomore LP (‘Sadistic Iterations… Tales Of Mental Rearrangement‘, 2018) which I believe I’d compared to groups like Unaussprechlichen Kulten and Cadaver at the time due to some introduction of dissonance into their riffcraft as either feature or gilding of run-on phrasing. The easiest way to sum this is a general 90’s technical death metal stance given to some nods toward Gorguts and Immolation inspired movement. ‘Merged in Abstract Perdition‘ leans even heavier into brain scrambling dissonant scrawl though this time around they begin with an extraction of Portal-esque guitar techniques without losing their bruiser class death metal trample, particularly as we step into opener “Unshakable And Unlimited Levels Of Obsession” and observe both the tempo map and tangled rungs of otherwise finessed dual-rhythmic intensity.

While I wouldn’t blame folks for assuming substance-lite available to a record deemed “dissonant” death metal outright but Braz‘ handle upon said techniques and movement isn’t for the sake of obscuration or non-linear shattering as Undersave are still foremost a riff-driven death metal band. That said ‘Merged in Abstract Perdition‘ is arguably one of the more adventurous, movement enriched releases from the band and one which ventures deeper into odd-timed/dual-rhythmic arrangements prone to pool in moderate disarray. The primary focus of the album’s first half is the intertwined clangor of its rhythm guitar threads, this is (mostly) a “guitar” record by my own extreme metal standard in terms of its major voice and feature being riffcraft, and you’ll get that feeling as the first few ~5 minute death metal pieces drone on through their movement.

The weight of the grey machine… — The most obviate value put forth within any Undersave release is its fixated immersive nature, the tunnel carved by Braz‘ riffcraft and its relentlessly shuddering rhythmic tic but this time around we find the band leaving even less open air to breathe within as increasingly chaotic, mathematically struck patternation bites and tears with destructive energumen. This reaches its blurriest, most hypnotic state within “Forced Retraumatization… Unlocking Spiritual Illumination” where harmonic strikes punctuate cyclic and circuitous clanking movement for its duration, interrupted only by pained howling from the vocalist. I don’t know if it serves a true turning point for the overall tone of the album but it does feel like we are then in the process of descent, a procession which goes on reaching for increasingly dissonant drawl over on Side B.

The peak of this descent into madness and machine-fed merger is maybe “Fathomless Contempt Nourished By Unrealistic Predictions” to some degree but you’ll feel the true pull of gravity within impressive closer “Narcissistic Supreme Alienation” which only just fades out into silence to close the album. Despite this being a disappointing point of closure for ‘Merged in Abstract Perdition‘ it doesn’t harm the greater impact of the full listen where momentum, chaotic scrawl, and dread-bound atmospheric heave make for a dark and damned death metal experience; While I was most engaged with the higher density action of the first four songs and their estranged, swerving movements the shape of the full listen is sound enough to entertain and appears much in line with their methods on the previous LP. In this way Undersave do not so much outdo themselves on this third full-length but reassert the hand that guides all into droning darkness. I’d found it to be a prime refinement of the bands signature which still carries an appreciable knack for machine-gunned serpentine death metal. A moderately high recommendation.

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