Underling are a wonderful little US atmospheric black metal outfit who have a tight sense of groove and potent songwriting, making for some very exciting tunes that drive forward with a sort of antediluvian rage. The band understands the magic of heavy metal as an art form and picking apart their balance of raw black metal with much more delicate atmospherics is interesting. Toss in more than a few rock and roll elements and you have yourself a high energy album that goes a step beyond the traditional atmospheric black metal release. It would have been really easy for Underling to have written a traditional atmospheric or post black metal record – they certainly are talented enough – but they boldly have gone a step beyond. They've brought in elements that I previously thought only bands like Kvelertak could do. That is not to say that Underling are partiers but rather that they bridge the gap between a variety of genres to create something profoundly beautiful. In a world of pain, Underling find beauty in a condemned art form.
Beyond all of this, though, is an underlying sense of chaos, a sense that anything is possible, and that we will all suffer under the crippling assault that the band unleashes with Bloodworship. The raw intensity of the album is ridiculous, the deafening death roar that defines the most dramatic parts of the album is perfectly complimented by the raw, punishing brutality. Considering the fact that the implementation of distortion is so fucking spot on it becomes almost impossible to not be enamored with this record. Bloodworship is obsessed with pushing the boundaries of what atmospheric and post-black metal can be. Just look at the punishing grooves on a song like "Servant Of Filth:: they wouldn't feel out of place in a Lamb Of God track, but are then contrasted with some beautiful face melting black metal. Underling make a name for themselves by playing off of balances and it leads to an album that suffocates, that shows that they can do anything the fuck they want, and will succeed at all of it. It's rare to find a band with this much goddamn talent, but for Underling it's apparently par for the course.
I encourage you to dive into this record and really get a feel for all that it encompasses. Considering that the record features a member of Fallujah, one should almost expect things to be transcendent… but when you really get into it you see that Underling are turned on to so much more. They are practically rewriting every rule behind the genre and it becomes ever more tempting to let yourself collapse into the music. Bloodworship has the potential to suck you up and force you to reconsider what black metal can be. It's rare that you find a band who understand the power and importance of the composition as well as Underling do, and reveling in the murk that is their sound and the sublime darkness which the have crafted is going to keep you coming back, a slave to a band who can change the world.
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