Life Undying – Mourn
Release Date: 25th September 2026
Label: Self Released
Bandcamp
Genre: Post-Metal, Blackgaze.
FFO: Deafheaven, Harikari for the Sky, Alcest.
Review By: Paul Cairney
The debut album by Graz based Life Undying, a solo project by Luke Iggy, is a heavy album, sliding into the post-metal/blackgaze genre. Mourn is the name of the album, and it is thematically built around environmental destruction and climate change.
The theme gives the album an extra bit of oomph, not that it needs it. For the most part, Mourn creates a heady mix of intensity and reflection, using clean and harsh vocals to enhance the ever-present melody throughout. The song titles also give a massive hint to the theme. ‘Flowers in Concrete’, the album opener, gives the first demonstration of the albums appeal. Heavy at times, the clean/harsh vocal mix flies into your face for the first time. ‘5AM Torrential Rain’ is another title fitting the theme, oozing power; it delivers a high-energy punch. As an aside, I was woken up to torrential rain at 5am yesterday – chance or a sign?
However, it is the raw emotion of ‘Endless Autumn’ where Life Undying excels. Poignant and full of the turmoil Iggy obviously feels about the changing climate and challenges our planet faces, it stands out amongst the crowd. I found myself singing ‘endless autumn’ at random times during the day over the past few weeks.
Mourn does have a few issues, however, almost all based around the vocals. The harsh, growled vocals are excellent. Iggy nails this, delivering the aggression at the right moment in each track. It is the clean vocals that trouble me. I could be wrong; I am no producer, but it does feel like the clean vocals are ‘studio enhanced’ and tidied up, giving a tone that doesn’t quite sit right in some, not all, of the songs. It may be that this is Iggy’s natural clean vocal; even if it is, it just grated a little bit. That said, the clean vocal tone also works well in some tracks, ‘Endless Autumn’ being a good example.
The vocals are not enough to dampen the quality of the album. Mourn is just short of exceptional. There are multiple parts where you will sing along. You will stretch the neck muscles to the riff, and you will appreciate the heaviness of the album. In using climate change as the album’s theme, Life Undying have delivered a concept album that many will get aboard with.
(4 / 5)
