UNDEFINED

With the precedent of a short, and somewhat disappointing EP, Spanish death metal act returns in 2008 with a full-length. As could be expected from a band that uses an EP to test the waters, 'Of Xenoglossy And Saturn' witnesses a marked improvement in virtually every area of the band, most notably including their production and performance. While Undefined have sharpened their heels on this one, their music still finds itself lacking that special 'something' that would have made it otherwise stand out from the legions of other death metal bands.

As the EP 'Saturnism Unfolds' indicated, Undefined has a sound that was very riff-oriented, somewhat complex, and keen to incorporate acoustic elements into their music. In more ways than one, they seem to have incorporated much of their sound from the giants Opeth, and this will certainly stand to appeal to many potential fans of this band. Undefined's execution of the sound this time around is quite professional. The production is a little more lively, and the musicianship gives a strong sense that Undefined have tightened up in the years since 'Saturnism Unfolds'. The vocal elements of Undefined remain sadly rather underwhelming; Gherion's growls lack the ferocity that I would hope for, and the clean vocals are weak. 'Of Xenoglossy And Saturn's sum of achievement is largely in terms of the guitars, and particularly the bass work of Jaime Berciano. A somewhat jazzy sound to the bass helps distinguish Undefined a little more from the run-of-the-mill, and while some of these riffs feel uninspired, the way they are all played is very impressive.

The songwriting of this band seems a little more refined this time around, and the lengthy tracks seem to be a little more justified. All the same, Undefined presents me with the same major qualm that I had with the debut EP; while they present promise as a performing act, they feel like a dry copy of other band's ideas and styles, particularly those of Opeth and Death. As skilled as this act may be, the appropriately titled Undefined need to find a more confident direction with their music.

Undefined are a band that seems to have dived under the radar for the death metal community outside of their home country of Spain. Now more recently having released a full-length album, their EP 'Saturnism Unfolds' first introduced metal fans to their melodic, yet aggressive sound. A four track batch of songs, Undefined makes it clear that they are a capable act here, and while rarely veering towards the technical side of the death metal spectrum, the band's playing abilities are never in question. All the same, 'Saturnism Unfolds' delivers little that surprises me by this point, and at the stage of this EP, they have not yet found a sound to call their own.

Undefined is best described as a melodic death metal band, although by that standard, they rely quite heavily on aggressive riffs, rather than pretty-sounding leads or keyboards. At their heaviest, Undefined have a pretty straightforward death metal sound, with chugging riffs and the sort of growls that will not come as any surprise to veterans of the death metal genre. Undefined sharpen up their sound with some progressive tendencies however, best represented by some longer-than-average compositions, and the feature of acoustic passages, not at all unlike what Opeth is known to do. Despite the perceived lack of originality, it is still possible to do great things with traveled territory, but Undefined seem to lack any special edge to their sound that could make them stand out. The riffs are heavy, but lack hooks or power. The growls are generic, and the attempts at clean vocals thrown about the EP are more of a failed experiment than anything.

Undefined would go to tighten up their style with 'Of Xenoglossy And Saturn', and while their EP demonstrates that the band have chops, the cookie cut death metal approach Undefined takes leaves me feeling underwhelmed.