Death metal vocalist Alexander Jones thought that his band Undeath, formed in Rochester, New York in 2018, was just going to be a little side project that he pursued in his spare time.
Never did he or his bandmates, Kyle Beam (guitar), Tommy Wall (bass), Jared Welch (guitar) and Matt Browning (drums), imagine that, six years later, they’d be embarking on back-to-back domestic and international headline tours, with Undeath serving as their full-time creative endeavor.
After performing for fans across Asia, making stops in Japan, China and Vietnam, as well as Australia, Undeath is back in the states and heading to Broken Goblet Brewing in Bensalem on Oct. 17 as part of its More Insane Tour.
Ahead of Undeath’s local stop, The Times caught up with Jones, who shared details on the band’s long-awaited shift to headliner status, the balance of rowdiness and fun that fans can expect at a live show, and how it upped the ante on its latest album More Insane.
Being able to bring their very own tour to so many different locations has been a long time coming for Jones and friends. During their early years on the road, they got used to being a supporting act, with the bulk of attendees not there to see them. Though this dynamic has since shifted, Jones’ approach to performing hasn’t changed much.
“It feels great, but also, even when we are headlining and people are there to see us, I still like to kind of maintain a mindset that we need to win people over,” he said. “I feel like it makes me perform better and it makes the show seem like it has higher stakes. I feel like that makes everybody more fired up. Even when we’re in an advantageous position, I like to still feel like we’re up against it a little bit.”
Each tour, Undeath makes it a point to stop in the Philadelphia area, a tradition that’s been upheld for some time now.
“We played Philly on the first tour that we ever went on,” Jones said. “We’ve played the Metal & Beer Fest in Philly before. So yeah, we have a long history of playing in Philly. Any tour that we do like this where we’re headlining and calling the shots, Philly is 100% gonna be a part of that.”
At the Bensalem show and all others, fans can expect a reprieve from the dark personas that many death metal bands try to uphold. Jones’ main goals on stage are simple: to be himself and make sure that every person in the venue has the best time.
“Typically, it’s pretty rowdy, I won’t deny that. We like to sort of inject some fun and joviality into the violence and rowdiness,” he said. “It’s definitely a party kind of atmosphere and it’s a very inclusive party.”
Attendees will have the pleasure of hearing tracks from Undeath’s third album More Insane, which dropped on Oct. 4 via Prosthetic Records. While the record stays true to the band’s roots, incorporating traditional death metal themes of horror, zombies and gore, Jones thinks that More Insane showcases a stronger side to Undeath’s musicality.
“We tried not to stray too far from the formula, but we did step up a lot. We’re always going to be a death metal band first and foremost. We take pride in being a death metal band, and everything that we do musically is kind of in service to death metal as a whole,” he said. “But we want to put our own stamp on it. We want to give it our own unique spin. This time, with More Insane, we wanted to dial into the performances even more, tie up the songwriting even more, make sure the production was even bigger. I think what we came away with was an Undeath record that doesn’t stray too far from the stuff that we already know we’re good at, but it’s that much more intense and that much more bigger and louder.”
Prior to the album’s release, Undeath released two singles: “Brandish the Blade” and “Disputatious Malignancy.” The former, explained Jones, is truly emblematic of More Insane and all that the band wanted to achieve with the record. It has a live music video to go along with it, something Undeath has wanted to create for some time, but didn’t have the right song until now. As for the latter, it’s thematically different from “Brandish the Blade” and a “little bit weirder,” and was released with a claymation music video.
“We wanted a music video that was fun and exciting in the way that we try to have things be, but also add a more dark and cryptic feel to it,” he explained. “I’m extremely stoked on how it came out. I think it’s probably my favorite video we’ve ever done. I think it’s just a sick piece to accompany that song.”
As is the case for many death metal artists, Jones isn’t expecting to make millions through Undeath. Rather, he’s doing it because of a lifelong love and passion for the genre.
“Death metal is underground music first and foremost. I’m welcome to be proven wrong here, but I do feel that there is kind of a ceiling with the music that we play. There’s always gonna be a larger audience of people who just can’t get past the vocals or can’t get past the subject matter, and that’s 100% fine with me and it’s fine with all of us,” he said.
Still, Jones added that, thanks to social media and streaming, there is more room than ever for death metal artists to achieve growth and success.
“What you’re missing out on in album sales, you’re making up for in more people being able to discover your music faster,” he said. “That’s really cool to me and it makes making music in this day and age a very exciting prospect.”
Regarding the future of Undeath, Jones explained that he tries to take things one day at a time and live in the present moment, but has a few things that he hopes Undeath can achieve someday. This includes touring with Cannibal Corpse or other death metal bands that introduced him to the genre, and performing more shows overseas, especially at a European metal festival.
Though there are obviously cultural differences at international shows (such as how Japanese fans go crazy during the song and then stand politely, hands folded, as they wait for the next one), music is a unifying art.
“By and large, I would say that metal fans are pretty much the same everywhere,” said Jones. “People just have this very deep and intense passion for this music. They’re supportive and enthusiastic at the shows, and that level of fandom definitely crosses cultural lines.”
If you go: Undeath is performing at Broken Goblet Brewing, 2500 State Road, Bensalem, on Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. This show is 18-plus. Tickets and more information are available at undeathmetal.com/.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at sbambino@newspapermediagroup.com
