Thursday, November 24, 2016

Posted by xjustinx | File under : , ,
 


I can distinctly remember the first time I heard Undying. My friend had just gotten a shipment of new releases for his distro, and knowing how much I loved the Day Of Suffering CD, he heavily urged me to take a listen to Undying's 'This Day All Gods Die' EP. I went over to his house to pick it up along with some other new stuff, and it was the first thing that I put on in my car. That EP didn't just blow my mind, it splattered my brain throughout the interior of my car. The mix of thrash/black metal speed, the urgency and breakdowns of hardcore, and the melody of one of my all time favorite bands, My Dying Bride, was the absolute perfect combination for me.

Over the years, I happily booked and played many shows with Undying and was fortunate enough to see them play in multiple states and multiple countries. They never once disappointed me, but over the many years, the one thing that has always eluded me was the demo tape. That all changed quite recently when I finally acquired a copy from a pal like Rich Thurston. Another rip of this demo has floated around the internet for years being labeled as 'Demo 1999', but that is inaccurate. This Day All Gods Die was released in January of 1999, and recorded in August of 1998, so obviously, this demo pre-dates that. Just to be sure, I consulted James Chang, and here's what he had to say about the demo recording:
"I remember that it was freezing when we recorded it. I recorded it in our practice space, and we couldn't leave the space heater on while recording guitars because it dropped the voltage on our amps and made them sound like shit, ha. The band started towards the end of 97 though, and we were together a bit before the demo, so I've got to figure early 98."

Two downloads are below. One clean rip straight from the tape with no alterations, and a remastered version that I think sounds extra nice (both at 320k). Take your pick, or download both, whatever suits you.


 Undying - Demo 1998

Remastered