Alright, these guys are something else. Straight out of Virginia, Undesiccated,
botanogrind's forerunners and finest at that, were extremely prolific during
2019 with four very strong releases, all which rattled my brain profoundly.
They are already back with opus number 5, 'צֶמַח (tseh'-makh)', and there's
no slowing down. And why should there be? Again, the band push boundaries and
move outside the box, not adhering to genre rules. So, they do the right thing
and push on and the outcome is absolutely phenomenal!
Picking up where 'Cudzoo' left off, the new EP is fast, furious, intense and pretty damned brutal. As with the previous releases the title 'צֶמַח (thseh'-makh)', refers to our plant life, our ecosystem. It's Hebrew and means branch, sprout or growth; collective sprouting; process of growth. To me, this goes back to the band itself, since Undesiccated always move forward, they grow and sprout and develop. Also with the botanical references in the EP titles I feel the band use them as a force against all the horrors they bring forth in the songs. What I'm aiming at is regardless what we humans have done to Mother Earth in the past she always gets revenge and comes back in full force. And we're heading down that avenue again, dear waveriders.
This time around Undesiccated go for short sharp bursts of
pummeling compositions ranging from 48 seconds to 2:52 minutes, which is fairly
long in these circles. Opener 'Hell's Teeth', comes flying out of the starting
blocks and wraps itself around me and crushes every bone in my body. The sheer
intensity is immense beyond words. 'Festooning, Hold The Line' keeps the
furiousity going but Undesiccated do give short respites where I can catch my
breath. Man, this is fantastic despite being mangled and beaten to a bloody
pulp. 'What Is The True Cost, When The Bulley Is Fatal?' is full-on insanity
'(The) Failures Of Flesh' follows and completely annihilates. There's no hiding from the guys as they are ruthless. Intense, intense, intense! All this continues partially in 'The Suffering Servant' at least musically. All of a sudden the pace drops allowing you to breathe. The song hits a dream like state where you float and finding solace. Closer 'Discipline In Obedience' picks up on this as mellow, yes mellow, and ambient instrumental music emanates from the speakers. This definitely extends a sense of hope as the minimalistic tones share the soundsphere with what I presume is nature sounds, probably from a jungle. Although to me there is a feeling of foreboding lurking around the corner. We can’t really tell until Undesiccated’s next recording is unleashed. Wonderful stuff, indeed!
I love it when a band I like go from strength to strength to strength with no hint of slowing down. Instead, this keeps me on my toes longing for new tunes even though this fantastic EP is at my disposal. Thank you, Undesiccated. You are truly a one of a kind groundbreaking band and I am so glad you entered my life!
-Swedebeast
