Doomed Confessionary: Andy Preece & Matt Franklin (Under)
Under is a progressive sludge trio from Stockport, UK. Formed in 2015, Under consists of Andy Preece (drums, vocals), Matt Franklin (bass, vocals) and Simon Mayo (guitar, vocals).
Centred around doom, sludge, and avant-garde metal, Under could have been just another heavy band – but their deep-seated need to splinter off into psych and prog elements pushes them far beyond the ordinary. Their warped time signatures and uneasy harmonies create an underlying sense of dread and nausea that defines everything they do. There are clear nods to Melvins, and that’s never a bad thing.
In January 2026, Under returned with their third full-length album, »What Happened In Roundwood«, released on APF Records. »What Happened In Roundwood« is dense, cinematic, and deeply unsettling. Gnarled riffs grind against eerie melodic passages; moments of beauty are interrupted by panic and dissonance. Lyrically, the record explores the uncanny and the absurd – glimpses of memory, decay, and hysteria – all filtered through the band’s unique Stopfordian lens.
Can you please say a few words about your band?
Matt: We’re Under from Stockport, UK. We’ve been doing pretty much whatever we want musically for the last decade and seeming to get away with it.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Matt: Definitely getting our latest album finished. We started recording this material over 6 years ago! Between pandemics, commissioned projects that are yet to see the light of day and all manner of personal obstacles it’s felt like a truly cursed project. Which is pretty funny given the subject matter in the album’s lyrics. It’s also been weird to sit on material for so long, we were fairly fast working and prolific before this so revisiting material we’d have definitely moved on from by now nearly had us scrap the whole thing about a year ago. I’m very glad we didn’t though, I’m very pleased with this album.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Matt: Honestly just the fact that we’re still here doing it. We’re three weirdos making pretty niche music and we’ve managed to stay close friends and not get into huge personal debt or any of the other stupid shit that kills bands. Getting to make the music we make together is still one of the most enjoyable things I do so it hasn’t been a challenge really.
What was your biggest regret?
Andy: I definitely regret not putting more work and attention into the promotion and admin side of the band earlier in our run. We are reasonably on top of this stuff now but there was definitely a period where the organisation of the business side of the band was a bit shit. We decided on the approach to our new album release it’d be even more fun overall if we took it a bit more seriously and did our darndest to make the most of the music we’ve made so that’s what we’re doing now. But yeah sometimes I do wonder where we’d be if we’d always had the work ethic we do now so there’s a little bit of regret there.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Andy: My personal favourite gig we’ve played was at Record Junkee in Sheffield on our tour with Kurokuma in 2022. The amazing Sugar Horse and our mates in The Hyena Kill were on their own tour which intersected with ours, so they played as well and it was a total blast. Unfortunately Kurokuma’s then-bassist/vocalist George was sick with coronavirus so between the 3 members of Under and some guest vocalists from other bands we covered his bass and vocal duties. Mayo did some standalone lead vocals that night and surprised everyone with what a great frontman he was. Alex Hurst from Boss Keloid also stepped in. I did a drum solo that I was particularly pleased with. It was just pure spontaneous fun and chaos and getting to share that with some of our best mates made it unforgettable. Those kind of gigs make all the toil and grind of being in a band 100% worth it.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Andy: I am always surprised and grateful for how willing people are to show up in large numbers to see underground Metal shows. There are so many people out there just fanatical about going to see Metal bands whoever they are and we are eternally grateful to those folks. They are the people keeping local music scenes alive and without them our lives would be much emptier as musicians. There are often times when I feel like live underground music is dying a bit but people continue to surprise me by filling out venues to see bands that aren’t famous at all and making these shows fun and worthwhile. We love meeting all these colourful characters at shows, so any gig-junkies reading this please come up and say hi to us next time you see us.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Andy: Currently I am listening to nothing but Dillinger Escape Plan and Meshuggah. We are currently in the writing phase of our fourth album which we plan to be our heaviest yet and these two bands are the heaviest ever. They also invented their respective sub-genres of metal so are huge inspirations both in the realm of heaviness and of originality.
Matt: Plenty of Shellac recently. Gilla band are always in my rotation and the new Mclusky gear is fantastic too.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Andy: It’s actually hard to recall being given straightforward ‘advice’ by other musicians as most of them have the emotional intelligence and humility not to go around handing out advice. However a dear friend of mine does like to talk about the importance of making physical copies of releases, as these vinyl, CD and cassettes will outlive you and find their way into people’s record collections. Even if you never end up hitting the proverbial Big Time, a little piece of you will live on in these recordings and hopefully end up as treasured items in people’s homes.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Andy: I have a strange obsession with the music of Dave Blunts. I was deeply ashamed to find him near the top of my most listened artists on Spotify in 2025, as by every conceivable metric his music is terrible and arguably morally reprehensible.
Can you say something more about the current music scene in Stockport?
Andy: I know everyone probably says this about their home city but I really believe Manchester has one of the best live music scenes in the country. There are so many quirky, independent venues and the standard of music is very high. I particularly love the Sour Grapes gigs they put on at Big Hands – it’s usually about £3 in and the bands are always good. You can pop in there on a random weeknight and be pretty much guaranteed to see at least one band that will blow your mind. There are lots of great larger venues as well but for me the experience of checking out random gigs in independent underground venues like Big Hands, Peer Hat and Yes Basement is the most fun for me.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
Andy: Next gig is a co-headline at the Outpost in Liverpool with a noise-rock band called Irk. That’s on May 16th. We’re performing our album in full and we’re filming and recording it as well. We’re really excited for that. We’re also playing Peer Hat with a drone band called Cult of the Occult a few days later on the 21st of May, which should be a really cool gig as well. We’re also playing at Godivageddon in Coventry on July 5th. After that we’re supporting Goblinsmoker at Aatma in Manchester on the 28th of July. Then on August 1st we’re down in Kent for Tonehenge festival.
As for tours we’re currently booking a tour of Scotland in September but that’s still being set up. There are more yet to be announced for later in the year.
Also our June is completely open at the moment so if there are any promoters reading this give us a shout for June!
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Matt: We’re playing the shows Andy just mentioned and we’re currently deciding which studio to go into to record the next album. I’ll definitely be jinxing us now but we don’t want another 8 year gap between albums. We’re looking into some bigger shows for next year which is quite exciting but you’ll have to stay tuned for those ones. Beyond that who can really say? We’ve not got bored of this yet so we may be stinking up the place for a while.
How can people best support your band?
Matt: Come out to gigs and bring your friends. The world’s a pretty scary place at the moment and it’s easy to forget how important the little communities we make together are. They’re what makes all the scary stuff worth dealing with.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Matt: Buy the new record you tight bastards. Especially if you already have.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well