The Undergang Gang Rides Again(g)
By Scott “No Gang Affiliation” Belzer | April 1st, 2025
Do you like.. sewage? Do you enjoy the feeling of being straight up filthy, likely due to some sticky-icky substances?
What about grime? Slime? Mud? Muck? Dirt? Schmutz? …Feculence?
Have you ever been fascinated by rot, decay, decomposition, petrification or fester-ization? …Ever get an infection, on like… your toe… or… something?
If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions—or even found yourself mildly curious—well then, boy oh boy, do I have just the show for you. Our grime-ridden Danish brethren from UNDERGANG are once again braving Atlanta’s potholes, gentrification, and general displacement to serve up some premium death metal to all you foul-smelling freaks on Saturday, April 5 at Boggs Social & Supply.
UNDERGANG’s penchant for combining putrid melodies with hip-swinging grooves can be heard within the first 30 seconds of any track. Each melody seems to echo from the depths of a swamp, drenched in enough down-tuned guitar effects and straight up evil to rupture any speaker’s bass ring. The band’s guttural vocals—executed to perfection by David Mikkelson—add to the band’s distinct sound, emerging like a bubble from a toxic volcano. At certain points, Mikkelson’s otherworldly gurgles are the lowest sound in the mix.
What sets these Danes apart from the endless (smelly, stinky, nauseating, doodoo-ridden) sea of death metal is their ability to make it downright catchy. As slime-ridden and foul as they are, each mid-tempo melody is written well enough to sway any metal-curious listener into a full-on convert. I challenge anyone to listen to “Efter obduktionen” and not dance around like a lunatic. Try to make it through “Dødskunst” without getting into the groove. Think you can make it through “Død” without involuntarily swaying, tapping a foot, or bobbing your head? Congrats, you’re a fucking idiot. UNDERGANG is so catchy that I’ll be introducing death metal to my grandma on April 5, and she’s going to love it. Just kidding, she’s dead—I’m bringing my other grandma (also dead (this is a death metal show)).
As if that isn’t already enough to get you rolling around in the nearest cemetery or bathing in the closest roadside ditch, they’re bringing Pacific Northwesterners TORTURE RACK to Atlanta’s kudzu-stricken, chicken-bone-littered landscape. This sometimes-trio-sometimes-quartet has been slinging dirty riffs since 2013, but 2023’s monstrosity Primeval Onslaught truly jettisoned these freaks into my good graces.
Much like UNDERGANG (is there an Overgang?), TORTURE RACK sling well-executed—dare I say catchy yet again?—death metal like an iced bottled water dealer in the middle of the desert. With riffs as thick and grimy as a slab of rotten beef, it should come as no surprise that half of the band WITCH VOMIT (Jason on bass/vocals, Tony on guitar) are here for the torturous party. While that band plunges the cavernous depths with slow builds and experimentation, TORTURE RACK opts for straightforward haymakers. Over the course of Primeval Onslaught’s near 30-minute runtime, you will be beaten into submission by way of Yokozuna-sized riffs that don’t just slap you in the face, but sit on it too. It’s a good time, man – who knew death metal could be so much fun?
And just in case you aren’t quite getting the memo to actually bury yourself for a solid eight-to-ten hours in a cheap plywood coffin (please don’t), Atlanta death metal maestros CEMETERY FILTH will be kicking things off with a deep, dank, gurgling OUGH.
We’re lucky to have bands like CEMETERY FILTH here in Atlanta—OG death metal appreciators that sling punishing, pummeling melodies a la the band that likely got you into death metal in the first place. Watching Maddie Kilpatrick shred and scream is terrifying (in the best way), and actually hearing Evie Austin’s bass boinks, sludgy slides and bonks is an utter treat (I don’t know how else to put this as a bass player—hearing metal in bass is just a treat, so thank you Evie). How lead guitarist Ryan Guinn slings electric melodies around such chaos, and how drummer Tristan Payne manages to craft rhythms around such complicated song structures – well, it’s beyond me. And you, for that matter. But that shouldn’t stop you from checking out CEMETERY FILTH’s amazing 2024 EP, Senses of Detriment.
So the gory gauntlet has been thrown down, folks. Gear up with grime. Get a Muk tattoo. Bathe in your local sewage. It’s time to show UNDERGANG, TORTURE RACK and CEMETERY FILTH what true Atlanta metal is all about. See you there.
-Scott Belzer