“Where Gods Conspire”: Up-and-Comers Underwing Debut First Single from 2019 Album

If you go to new band Underwing’s website, the first words you will see are these:

Underwing . . . Progressive Grunge from Norway

If that lights any sort of spark inside you, I guarantee you will love this new, up-and-coming, rock and metal band.

Early 2016 saw the birth of Underwing in southern Norway, and unlike many groups who flounder about seeking a musical path, this quartet of guys immediately knew their purpose. Their site states that they wanted to create a unique, honest, musical expression by merging the groovy rhythms found in ’70s rock, the melancholic atmosphere of ’90s grunge, and the sonic complexity of modern progressive metal.

In this writer’s humble opinion, Underwing is already accomplishing their mission.

Underwing came out with their first release, the EP “Kaela Upsweep,” on May 20, 2017, and it was brought to my attention by the YouTuber coverkillernation, when he reviewed and recommended it. Rarely have I been so happy to discover a new band. I said, in my own short review of “Kaela Upsweep,” “the difference in Underwing is the band’s instrumental ability and compositions. These guys call themselves “progressive grunge,” which, after listening to their music, is accurate. The wailing yet gruff vocals and rhythm section have a distinct grungey flavor, but the songs’ compositions, the skill and tightness of the band’s rhythm and timing, and the guitar solos bring to Underwing’s sound a prog technicality.”

I also included the band in a more recent article, “Learn These Names: 5 New(ish) Bands to Know.” I stand by every good thing I’ve said about them, on this site or elsewhere.

That’s why I’m thrilled to announce an exciting, new, Underwing single, released November 30, 2018, the first song to drop from new material the band will be releasing in 2019!

Look at that artwork, too. So many bands these days overlook cover art, for both albums and singles, but these guys don’t!

The track is fantastic. Thunderous and powerful. Louder, faster, mightier, and more ambitious than anything on “Kaela Upsweep,” though the songs there were great too. The logical next step in a sound the band has described as a mix of Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Tool, Motorpsycho, and Black Sabbath.

As for concept, frontman Enyeto Kotori, in the single’s press release, says, ” ‘Where Gods Conspire’ deals with how all our lives are, in some way or another, dictated by people in powerful positions. People can often experience that they make choices that they do not necessarily want to make. . . The song tells a story of conflicting emotions, of how it can be difficult to break free of the chains that control your life. The choice between the safety of normalcy and the risk involved with realizing your own potential comes to a head at the explosive conclusion of the song. . .

“What it all boils down to is the feeling of knowing what controls your life, your lust, your emotions, your procrastination, and so forth. While wanting to change, you still dwell in it, enjoying yourself. It’s like a written letter between the higher and lower self within all of us; those little voices arguing within, trying to come to an agreement.”

I’m intrigued to see where the band will progress now.

Listen to this track, and once you’ve heard it a few times (and, trust me, you will want to hear it a few times), spin “Kaela Upsweep.” You won’t be sorry.