UK based doom/sludge/avant-garde metal trio Under announce new album »What Happened In Roundwood«; first single and music video out now!

Stockport, UK based doom/sludge/avant-garde metal trio Under premiere a music video for the first single »Escape Roundwood« taken from their forthcoming album, »What Happened In Roundwood«, scheduled for release on January 23rd, 2026 via APF Records.

Tracklist:
01. Tantrum
02. Ma
03. The Alchemist
04. Isaac
05. Escape Roundwood
06. Rings
07. Roots And Limbs
08. Felling

Courtesy of APF Records:

Stockport’s masters of “uneasy listening” return. »What Happened In Roundwood« is the long-awaited new full-length album from Under, the genre-defying trio whose unholy blend of sludge, noise, and avant-garde prog has earned them cult acclaim and confusion in equal measure.

Since their 2017 debut »Slick«, 2018’s »Stop Being Naïve«, and 2020’s »Training Resource #5«, Under have carved out a sound all of their own: a warped hybrid of nightmarish circus riffs, jagged rhythms, and dark humour. Their latest offering pushes that formula to breaking point – and then keeps going.

»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.

Photo by Alex Dodgson

Recorded and mixed by guitarist Simon Mayo at Spirit Studios in Manchester, and featuring the signature three-way vocal interplay of Matt Franklin, Andy Preece, and Mayo, the album captures the intensity of Under’s live presence while expanding their sonic palette into stranger, more ambitious territory.

There are few bands operating at the intersection of sludge, noise, prog, and experimental art rock who sound anything like Under – and fewer still who do it with such commitment. With »What Happened In Roundwood«, Under have delivered their most vivid, unnerving, and fully realised statement yet.

Released January 23rd, 2026 via APF Records.

Order it from: apfrecords.co.uk

All music written by Under.
All lyrics written by Matt Franklin.
Recorded and mixed by Simon Mayo.
Mastered by The Drum Tamer.
Illustrations by Cara Czyzewska.
Graphic design by Aidan Walker.
Video by Brandon Nightingale.

Under is:
Andy Preece – Drums and Vocals
Matt Franklin – Vocals and Bass
Simon Mayo – Guitar and Vocals

FFO: Uneasy listening, angular sludge, avant-garde doom, acid nightmares

Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well