Album Review: Underdark – O Come Forth Annihilation (Church Road Records)

Blackened post metal band, Underdark are back with their new album ‘O Come Forth Annihilation’, out 6th of November 2026 via Church Road Records.

A more extreme sounding Underdark, O Come Forth Annihilation is the sound of a band turning their vitriol on the here and now. Focusing on the crisis of the present that define every waking moment, and how promised futures simply haven’t materialised. Rawer, darker, angrier, and heavier, this is depths that Underdark have been forced to sink to, and we’re all along for the ride.

It can all feel so hopeless, and Underdark aren’t here to tell you that it will all be grand in the end, because that’s a lie. They know it, and we know it, and it’s ok to be angry. Embrace it.

O Come Forth Annihilation is different to what Underdark have previously released, although you can certainly find familiar elements, particularly within the post side of the band’s sound. It is a more intense album with a more ferocious blackened stance, a nihilistic vein that pulsates strongly, and a gloomier overall feel. This is so evident by the duo of Annihilation Overture and The Hit Piece, with the former being an intro that flows into the latter.

The guitar tones are so harsh, the percussion is so brutalising, and the vocals are so destructive, but this is Underdark, and this is a track with layers, haunting and morose layers that have a more cinematic vibe. Showing, again, a more developed musical palette.

Unleashing a cacophony of impassioned fury, Death of a Toolmaker is eight minutes of relentless blackened metal. If you had any doubts about how harsh this album could be, this track will shut them down. Sure, as it goes on, more recognisable aspects of Underdark’s sound begin to slip in but that just adds more expressiveness to the track. It is unforgettable because it is a beast.

Nearly two minutes of disconcerting and lonely sounding atmosphere comes next in the form of Hollow Platitudes. Before Underdark hit a high with one of my favourite tracks on the album, Foucault Wept.

I think if you want to understand how unrestrained passion and fury can result in something so remarkably beautiful, then this is the track for you. Underdark at their absolute best, perfectly balancing blackened fierceness with post splendour, and expressing themselves in authentic fashion. It’s not that what they’re saying is original, but it is real, and that makes all the difference. Although, if you know this band, that shouldn’t be a surprise.

A glorious explosion of post metal, black metal, and post-hardcore, Non Linear Warfare is another special one. However, here it’s because at around the halfway mark, simple melody takes over and the build back up to noisy blackened carnage ends up being awesome. Then, just like that, it’s over as Children of Men arrives and captures the imagination in dramatic, emotionally wrought, and gorgeous fashion. The spoken word vocal section left me mouth agape. An exceptionally powerful finale.

They’ve done it again. Touched my soul, left my mind spinning, and my heart aching. Underdark are one of the UK’s best bands and O Come Forth Annihilation proves it without a shadow of a doubt. The strength of feeling in it will stay with me, and hopefully you, for a long time yet.

Underdark – O Come Forth Annihilation Track Listing:

1. Annihilation Overture
2. The Hit Piece
3. Death of a Toolmaker
4. Hollow Platitudes
5. Foucault Wept
6. Non Linear Warfare
7. Children of Men

Links

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