Undesiccated - Epiphytic

Virignia's Undesiccated, my favourite botanogrinders, are back with a new recording, 'Epiphytic', and I couldn't be happier. After a very prolific release schedule the guys slowed down and put all focus on this new creation...all while yours truly was expecting a new scorching EP or full-length every two months. But, hey that's actually great when you look at it. Don't get stuck in a formula, stir things up instead and be conventionally unconventional. That makes it more exciting for everyone involved, band members and supporters alike, no matter how much this writer whines and complains!

 

Having taken wide turns and being experimental and progressive, oh that awful word, from the beginning, Undesiccated pushes on even further. Not being interested in following conventional norms this new recording contains 24 tracks,  strange within grind, however, some compositions range between 4:47 and 7:37 minutes, something ever so rare in this genre, indeed! Add the fact that the whole album is over 38 minutes long gives you an idea of that the band do whatever they want to.

 

Aside from mesmerizing me with their music Undesiccated always teach me something new within biology...and that's from the album/ EP titles alone. What makes me embrace this instead of shunning it, is because they don't preach. They simply state facts and information which piques my interest in discovering more. And subsequently I pass on these "lessons" whenever I review a recording of theirs. So nothing has changed with the newbie, 'Epiphytic'. It comes from epiphyte, an organism that grows on the surface of plants. The epiphyte collects its moisture from the air, rain and debris around it. Not only is it a great food source for many species but it grows on plants for physical support and don't affect the host negatively.

 

As always with any album we all have our individual favourite songs and that's how it should be. That's what makes a recording colourful and vibrant, in my opinion. I'll go through mine below but don't let that deter you from listening to all the tracks because they are all damned good. 'Anosognosia & Ideological Subversion: The Parable Of Chickenshit Apostate', yeah suck on that title for a minute, is grindcore and death metal mixed brilliantly. Intense as hell! 'Zoonosis' is brutal as brutal grind can be. I mean, after it's 53 seconds I am absolutely spent. 'Cocoon Of Professional Victimhood' is pummeling, claustrophobic and pretty badass. 'The Language Of The Unheard' kind of slow but then switches into brutal metal. Great!

'Acute Empathic Failure Like Cancer In The Bone' is despearate, dejected and crushing. To me it's a song that defines Undesiccated as a whole, it's definitely one of my favourites. 'Always And Usually Right' is short, furious and bloody brilliant and another one simply annihilates me. '(Freedom In)The Impermanence Of Imprisonment' brings out superfast death metal, I mean intense and brutal. 'Divide Et Impera', divide and conquer, has claustrophobia and schizophrenia hanging tight in the air in this tribal-like masterpiece. Clocks in at a massive 7:37.

 

Undesiccated has never disappointed me ever since I first laid my ears on them. And that has not changed with 'Epiphytic'. On the contrary, the band still expands and evolves. True, they play grindcore as basis of their music but, refusing to be shackled and reined in, Undesiccated break down walls and they take no prisoners in the process. Fantastic as always!

 

 - Swedebeast