Supergroups can typically be a swing and miss in my experience, usually due to too many differing styles being mixed together. This is like when mixing too many colors just leaves you with a murky brown. Having said that, Languish is certainly one of the better sounding collectives that make it work with their Blackened Death Metal meets Grindcore approach. Their sophomore efforts are out now under the title Unworthy via Prosthetic Records, and it is mighty impressive.

Languish is made up of Zack Hansen (drums, also in North), Matt Mutterperl (guitars, also in North), and Sean Mears (vocals, also plays bass in Gatecreeper). Ryan Bram, the recording engineer and producer for Languish and Gatecreeper, also plays bass in a live setting for Languish. These individuals put together fifteen killer tracks that all stand out and have something for everyone to enjoy.

From start to end, Unworthy truly feels like an old school Death Metal album at the foundation but then pours on this grimy feel from the Grindcore elements that leave you wanting more after each track.

‘Unholy Land’ does exactly this in the sense that the riffs feel familiar as to that of other OSDM bands, but then out of nowhere comes a grindcore break in the action. This shift in gears is still quite eye-opening to me even after listening to this album quite a few times. ‘Pawn of God’ starts off in the same light that ‘Unholy Land’ was standing out, with a slow, sluggish intro rather than a bridge.

Eventually ‘Pawn of God’ speeds back up and hits that backbone sound the album produces. The album title, ‘Unworthy’, might be the stand out track on the entire album however. The song is slow and heavy which certainly showcases the two members from North as their other project certainly seeped into this track yet ensuring it sounds like Languish. It is also an instrumental track that follows ‘Goliath’ which was one of the more chaotic tracks on the album. These two tracks back to back are some of the best parts of the whole recording.

Languish are certainly going to turn heads with this release. Death Metal and Grindcore fans alike will find they enjoy this album as it certainly caters to those two sub-genres and does it well. Unworthy will leave you desperate for more after a quick twenty-six minutes and, dare I say, leave you feeling unworthy.

8.0/10

TIM LEDIN