There’s something alluring about the kind of noise rock that’s adjacent to metal and has seen a rebirth in recent years. It’s ugly, it’s loud and it doesn’t give a damn if you feel comfortable. You have the stars who rose up, like Chat Pile, dragging the bloated corpse of nü-metal through the mud, Couch Slut serving dissonant, riff-filled nightmare fuel, and Intercourse sounding like a wild animal tearing flesh for fun.
This isn’t “revival” music. these are bands that turn noise into a weapon, crushing the raw force of metal into the emotional bleeding of punk and then deliberately breaking whatever remains just to watch it scream. We enter the UK’s Under, stepping into this chaos with no interest in playing nice. They combine the suffocating weight of sludge metal, the hostility of noise rock and the strange, confrontational instincts of art rock into something truly disorganized. Their third record, What Happened In Roundwood, doesn’t aim to be palatable. It aims to crush, to bewitch and to leave a dent. The question isn’t what they do – it’s whether Under struck hard enough to leave permanent damage.
- Read also: Hällas – Panorama Review
In the first half of What Happened In Roundwood, Under establish their own distinct style that fits beautifully with their American contemporaries. The foundations of these songs rest on angular sludge riffs over looping odd time signatures and off-kilter rhythmic patterns, as if they’d stumbled onto a more avant-garde version of Melvins in an edition of Swans capable of editing. Bassist and vocalist Matt Franklin anchors the music with simple but heavy low-frequency riffs, locking tightly with drummer Andy Preece’s imposing, hypnotic grooves. Guitarist Simon Mayo fills the gaps with jagged riffs and layers of dissonant, heavy-as-skronk leads. Franklin lends an ironic, British roughness to the effort, leading the songs with a passionate vocal performance that successfully conveys the acoustic depravity on display. This formula deepens with the addition of menacing choral vocals and harmonies (“Ma,” “The Alchemist”), swirling guitar cacophonies (“Tantrum,” even slow noise bursts with shades of Primitive Man (“Isaac”). It’s an effective and utterly unsettling display with enough variety in its execution to keep things exciting until the B-side eliminates every sense of normalcy.
In the second half of What Happens In Roundwood, Under undergo a dramatic sonic shift and the results are gripping. The last part of the album leans heavily toward an exploratory, avant-garde jazz influence, with the tracks flowing seamlessly into each other like a three-part suite. These songs stand out as the album’s clear highlights. The sequence begins with “Rings,” which unfolds into a state of subdued horror, slowly building tension through sparse orchestration before reaching a happy climax. This transitions smoothly into “Roots and Limbs,” a jazz, post-hardcore piece that raises the tempo and intensity, providing a sense of release after several slower songs. All of this builds toward the closer, “Felling.” The final track plays like a fever dream, repeating key moments from earlier in the album and reshaping them into a chaotic haze of noise. When the music finally collapses into rich choral vocals, it feels like the calm at the center of a storm. A perfect ending to a bold and impressive second half.
This places What Happens in Roundwood in a peculiar position. The second half of the record explores a significantly different sonic field from the first, and it’s stronger for it. Under‘s more typical sound, presented on the first five tracks, is gripping, but compared to the highs of the last three, it falls a little short. Repeated listens leave me wanting a bit more roughness or memorability in the simpler sludge riffcraft before it gives way to the more exploratory material. I appreciate the band’s efforts to vary their noise-rock/sludge approach through vocal layers/ornaments or a Southern flavor (“Escape Roundwood”), but I’m largely impressed by the opening punch. This isn’t a major mark against the record. the album is solid throughout its length. Nonetheless, it keeps the work from standing as tall alongside some of my favorites in the style.
With “What Happens In Roundwood”, Under have presented a solid sludgy noise rock record with plenty of authentic charm. I wish the impressive idiosyncrasy were distributed a little more evenly throughout the album, but it’s still an enjoyable listen that carves out its own unique place within the broader style. The next time the British band showcases their brand of sinister sludge, I’ll be happy to listen.
Rating: Good!
DR: 8 | Format reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Record label: APF Records
Websites: understockport.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/understockport
Worldwide releases: January 23, 2026
You’ll find the source at the link below
https://www.angrymetalguy.com/under-what-happened-in-roundwood-review/
