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“Underneath” has 5 tunes and over 20 minutes of heavy, aggressive, thrashy, and even bluesy metal. As I said in a review for their last CD, as well as a term the band is familiar with, they are best described as “Southern U.S.-fried, Italian thrash metal.” The band is very Pantera sounding, which makes sense, since they are influenced by the likes Pantera, Testament, and Sepultura. To me they have more of a defined sound in the styling of Superjoint Ritual.
For the most part the composition on “Underneath” is solid. There are a number of catchy riffs, some of which are brutal and pissed-off and others more of a thrashy groove. Solos on the disc are ok, nothing too spectacular, however they add more to the music than take away. Drums provide a nice foundation for the songs to be built upon. It's not super impressive drumming, but it’s adequate. Fills and blast beats are all used properly, and not overused. Lyrics are presented by yelling vocals with a grimace; some are higher pitched screams. At times they are suggestive of Phil Anselmo, especially during the higher pitched screams.
The recording production has no really complaints from me. A few times I wished the drums were a tad bit louder, but the balance between the instruments is fine. Most of the tracks are at least decent, and I got into each one of them. Only thing that I have a bit of doubt on is the lasting power of the songs. They sound pretty good at first, but lose some of their luster after a few listens. Still it’s a solid release that will grab some metalheads’ attention.
Rating: 76
Reviewed By: Jeffrey D. Adkins