Our eighth and final event as part of our 21st Year Anniversary Series! It was fantastic to close out the year at Wave Music with a sold out show! Thanks to Addy for his support of Underground; he made all three bands sound fantastic. Shout out to Aurelius who worked the lights! Thank you to the three bands who performed and shared their original songs with an engaged and mostly-moshing audience. Thank you to everyone who turned up. Thank you to The Arrowcat for the amazing artwork and poster design for Death’s Embrace. Special thanks to Aaron Michelson for the photos and El Jay for the reviews. A big thanks to Raven, our wonderful doorperson.
我哋21週年紀念系列嘅第八場亦都係最後一場活動，喺Wave Music以全場滿座為今年畫上完美句號！ 多謝Addy一直支持Underground，佢令三隊樂隊喺台上聽起上嚟都勁正。 亦要shout out畀Aurelius，佢負責燈光，成晚效果一流。​
好多謝三隊樂隊嘅演出，佢哋用自己嘅原創歌同一班投入又不停mosh嘅觀眾分享音樂。 多謝每一位到場支持嘅朋友。 多謝 The Arrowcat 為《Death’s Embrace》設計咗咁精彩嘅作品同海報。特別鳴謝Aaron Michelson幫我哋影相，仲有El Jay寫review。 最後都要大大聲多謝我哋出色嘅門口守護者Raven。​
❤️ Chris B xx

Sky Burial

1. The Smouldering One
2. ⁠Vacant Throne
3. ⁠Eternal Submission
4. ⁠Inside the Abyss
5. ⁠psyche
6. Lifeline
7. Persephone

Sky Burial are an established presence at Underground events, having also played at Death Revisited and Death Metal Dungeon within the last 18 months. Formed with members of the dormant (and excellent) Human Betrayer, Sky Burial plumb similar depths of dark sound, with doom-laden chord progression, ominous vocal growls and sluggish breakdowns.

Vocalist Yonnie is a commanding presence; rather than relying on stage theatrics, she exacts a slow revenge, looming over the room like an evil ant queen surveying her obedient drones. She’s backed by guitarists Wilson and Randy, with drummer Shing holding it down on the kit (note: no bassist).

Both Underground reviewers have mentioned it before and it bears repeating again: the gaps between songs in Sky Burial’s sets are intolerably long. There’s something to be said for atmospheric pauses, but long silences punctuated with a cough from the crowd or crack of a beer can just feel awkward. It’s a physically demanding genre of music, but if each track requires a breather afterwards, there needs to be some thought paid to maintaining the tension and intrigue – a mysterious, spooky pre-recorded interlude would do the trick here and keep all eyes focused on the stage rather than prompting mass smartphone swiping.

The band warms up with The Smouldering One and Vacant Throne, then Eternal Submission kicks in with a real groove – a dancey riff held up by brassy, saucepan lid cymbal smashes. As the dry ice swirls, the riffing takes on a robotic quality, with jarring pig squeals mixed in. Like a baked cheesecake made from abattoir offcuts, the room is stodgy at the edges yet molten in the middle as a nascent mosh pit is sighted. Charged by the night’s nastiest riffs, punters began to jerk, pushing and bashing each other involuntarily, as if they were corpses animated by the electrical pulses of some mad scientist’s experiment. Guitarist Randy – a dead ringer for Slipknot’s Mick Thomson in look and style – busts out a creepy, atonal solo then slows the tempo, looking pleased at the violence that’s beginning to unfold before him.

A buzzsaw roars into life: Inside the Abyss blasts off with a galloping chug. Red stage lights flicker in warning as Shing unleashes a buffeting from the drums to the sound of a pentatonic bridge. The tempo slows, Yonnie’s vocals dip deeper than Hades to bring the song to close, and then there’s more silence and phones come out again. Someone burps.

Psyche is a chance for Randy and Wilson to show off some dexterity, moving from a tremolo opener to darkly tuned scales that merge and diverge like dual engines either side of Yonnie. Shing, ever a merciless coxswain, pounds a tempo that leads this imperilled outfit down the River Styx into the underworld. A pool of water mysteriously appears on the floor and sweaty moshers slip and slide – spilled booze or bodily fluids? Turns out it’s a faulty aircon. Bog roll is applied and proceedings continue. Randy sweeps back his hair – job well done.

Yonnie, tatted and lean, returns to looming over her subjects. Cymbals crash like lightning. Wilson spins elegant scales then holds down a single low note to give backbone to a solo by Randy. It sounds a bit messy, with a chaotic drum beat flat in the mix. Wilson slashes hand through the air to give emphasis to Yonnie’s dark utterances, the beat stop-starting furiously around him like the breakdown in Gojira’s Backbone.

On final song Persephone – the music video for which is released in December – the vocals are practically crocodilian, like stones grinding, evoking medieval torture instruments in brutality. Low notes reverberate all around the silhouetted singer, swirling like monstrous beings ready to do her bidding. It’s a total cacophony and further polish is required to take things up a notch. But it’s a deliciously dark and fun opening performance that sets the tone for another death metal showcase.
-El Jay

Alpha Tone

1. Intro
2. 黑白
3. 無明火
4. 迷失的瞬間
5. 蝴蝶
6. Last Party
7. 黑思想

There’s no universe in which Alpha Tone could be mistaken for death metal. Their sound is big, melodic and built for arenas, mixing J-rock energy, 80s heavy rock swagger and pop-metal polish. Shout-out to 16-year-old Aurelius on lights, who nails the atmosphere and gives their set a stadium glow.

They ease in with an atmospheric instrumental, a slow-burn intro that sets the scene before Zing steps forward to introduce the band. His range is impressive, blending soaring highs and gritty lows.

黑白 hits like an Airbourne song, plowing in with heavy, theatrical 80s-style rock. Zing, sporting a shaggy dichromatic mop of hair, commands the stage with crowdwork: claps, singalongs and a catchy “woah” motif. Keyboardist/programmer Steve couldn’t make it (he’s a pilot and had to fly), so a backing track fills the gap. Frankie takes the song’s bridge vocals, which adds pop flavour, even if not quite the same pedigree as Zing.
無明火 is the high point so far. Frankie shines with creative licks that add real dimension on a song that’s hook-driven and arena-ready. Moz was quiet early on but fixed quickly, and the energy spikes again.

迷失的瞬間 draws a quip from the crowd: “Sounds like a Hong Kong anime rock band.” This track feels made for fight scenes: pounding beats from Crow, theatrical guitar work from Moz and soaring harmonies between Zing and Frankie. The solos aren’t flawless but packed with interesting transitions and tone. The writing is strong – scene-setting, tension, release. As punters wave along, Frankie fires out a solo that leaves the room buzzing.

蝴蝶 evokes the likes of X Japan in its rock drama. Zing grins: “If I’m breathless, you must be too!” A countdown – “Three, two, one!” – then a huge scream and blistering solo from Moz. Crow dazzles on drums with rolls and cymbal flourishes, locking into a metronomic snare. They transition into a Guitar Hero-esque section of shredding and fireworks, Frankie’s fretboard glowing red. Easily “the snazziest guitars we’ve had at an Underground heavy night,” Chris B says.

The final stretch – Last Party and 黑思想 – keeps the adrenaline high with anthemic choruses and bigger riffs, keeping the energy high till the final notes. Alpha Tone leave the stage looking like a band destined for bigger platforms, with plenty of complimentary words for The Underground and a promise to return soon.
–El Jay

Putrescent Carcass

Worm Colony Inside Your Colon
Face Eating Parasitic Infestation
New Song
Weak Die First (cover)
Grotesque Impalement (cover)
Für Elise
Kevin Fucking Sucks
Botched Molar Excavation

As the last band of The Underground’s final show of 2025, Putrescent Carcass make for a gloriously irreverent closer (hearing Chris B say the words “slamming brutal death metal” is comedy gold) to a year of excellent heavy shows at Wave Music Studio.

Their big scene entrance came at the Aftermath’s Metalfest in August, where they warmed up the room for Rokkasen and won hearts with their charisma and unpolished slamming brutal death metal style, which recalls Cannibal Corpse, Amputated, Dying Fetus, Bong Rips for Jesus and the heaving morass of other bands that blend horror film influences, unintelligible vocals, crushing aural onslaughts and illegible, scribble-style logos. Fresh off the release of their eponymous EP (check Bandcamp) just five days earlier, the trio are a highly anticipated headliner, bringing a loyal crowd with them.

They wriggle out of the festering cadaver with Worm Colony Inside Your Colon. Guitarist and lead vocalist Connor Zeng delivers an ear-buffeting combination of guttural utterances – sitting somewhere between a belching drain and angry neanderthal – and nasty, buzzing riffs that advance through the venue like locusts through a crop field. Bassist Monty Lindner locks in with a groovy, elastic tone and even steps up for a few burps and growls.

They’ve clearly spent the last few months practising hard: songs are more fleshed out and have more dimensions, and the setlist feels crafted into a journey rather than a bunch of mashed together snapshots.

Like a lanced boil, Face Eating Parasitic Infestation erupts violently, Connor Z sounding like he’s throwing up bad shrimp while drummer Connor Wei hammers away, head down, as if he can’t bear to look. There’s something tribal here: the voice as percussion, Monty’s hair a blur. Connor Z even drops a solo, but unfortunately it’s obscured in a swampy mix and the high frequencies don’t quite ring through.

On New Song, his burps morph into wretched black metal howls. It’s a festering scene and the room approves: punters, who’ve been tearing at each other since the first notes of the set, finally open up a pit, rendering the centre of the room impenetrable to anyone who’s not looking for a rabid face smashing.

Next, it’s Sunami’s Weak Die First, “a cover for all you hardcore fans”, then Dying Fetus’s Grotesque Impalement, followed by an unlikely segue into Für Elise (not even Beethoven is safe from a Carcass mauling). By now, fans are whipped into a primal frenzy, just beating each other blindly. A pair begin stomping in the middle in lockstep and a furious circle pit forms. The band greet the turbine by whirling their hair, too, while holding down a two-step rhythm and fierce breakdowns, Connor W going nuclear on the double kick. From the evil tumult they exhume more cro-magnon “urgghhhhs”.

Now it’s time for Cabin Socks! Say what? Kevin Sucks! In fairness, we’re now deaf. There’s a perfect swing and stomp to this: it’s like something our ancestors would have chanted as they circled around the campfire. Connor Z contorts his face for new sounds and Connor W’s meaty beat keeps the primordial soup vertebrate. An ominous tone pervades, then there’s an impressive solo; again, the sound is buried beneath the tumult. “I’m fuckin’ tired,” Connor Z says. People don’t realise the stamina this music takes – it’s not easy to sound like you’re retching up bile for half an hour while keeping the melodies and riffs flowing.

Closer Botched Molar Excavation crawls in on a bubbling, borderline-offensive bassline. Dry ice rolls, the room darkens, and chaos reigns: slap bass meets coffee-grinder vocals, tempo slows to a final cymbal ting. One of Monty’s pedals dies in the wreckage.

They came, they saw, they putresced. Other bands may seek compositional polish and sentimental songwriting while agonising over their stagecraft, but Putrescent Carcass are here to have fun while blowing the room apart. This is a band to unite during fractured times, reminding us that for all the trappings of civilised modern life, we’re still just animalistic sacks of meat who want to ogle the grotesque and club skulls. It’s that spirit that has everyone dragging their knuckles out of Wave Music Studio once last time this year, and ergh-urgh-erghhing all the way home.
-El Jay