In his review of Eaten by Sharks’s debut, Eradication, Carcharodon mollified readers about the dangers of sharks by citing statistics. However, statistics don’t erase the fact that sharks look like the stuff of nightmares—and they do sometimes eat people. Most of us prefer to experience this vicariously through film, where we learn sharks are quite versatile killers. They might surprise you while you’re skinny dipping and thrash you around a bit before dragging you underwater. Or one might burst through the floor of an underwater research facility and chomp you in half. There are also more subtle methods of death, like finding yourself stranded in the middle of the ocean when a shark bites your leg and then swims off, leaving you to slowly bleed to death. Canada’s Eaten by Sharks throw their own narrative hat in the ring on their second album, The Undertow of Hate, a dark and brutal vision of violence in the deep seas.
The songs on The Undertow of Hate behave just like killer sharks—they’re brutal, shifty, violent, and efficient. Eaten by Sharks achieve this through a deathcore-adjacent style of death metal that straddles the line between Fit for an Autopsy and Cattle Decapitation. Down-tuned, chugging guitars and pummeling blast beats provide an atmosphere of dark violence, and the high-energy music feels like a rallying cry for sharks in a feeding frenzy. Eaten by Sharks also dip into The Black Dahlia Murder-style melodeath on the likes of the speedy and entertaining “Bodies Overboard” and “Crimson Tide.” The Undertow of Hate isn’t all pedal to the metal, though. It often pauses for slower moments, surveying the outcome of the violence with pithy observations like “Look at all the bodies” (“Bodies Overboard”). The progressive nature of the music ensures a narrative flow rather than a mere repetition of ideas.
Eaten by Sharks have produced a masterwork of horror in terms of atmosphere and storytelling. Borrowing from horror stalwarts Fulci, they integrate atmospheric soundbites into the opening of each song. Far from being annoying or gimmicky, these touches meld naturally into the music. Opener “Vessels Torn” combines gentle guitar riffs, crying seagulls, and the straining of a ship against the waves before plunging into the violence of guitars and growls. Other tracks open with people screaming in terror, splashes of water, underwater bubbles, and even a soundbite from the original Jaws. These touches help immerse the listener in the grisly setting and add a layer of depth to the pummeling music. It all culminates in a brilliant outro, “Surfaced Remains,” which uses surprisingly lovely arpeggios and some audio tricks to give the sense of bodies rising to the surface, making for a poignant, if nihilistic, conclusion to the record.
The musicians overcome a pretty bad mixing job to put together an album that sounds much better than it should. I think it helps that Eaten by Sharks doesn’t overwhelm with a busy mix—they take a rather simple, though effective, approach to the music. The drums from Justin Whitehead may be a touch too loud, but he lays the framework for violence with some powerful blast beats, while taking things down a notch as the narrative requires. The dual guitar work from Chris Chaperon and Dan Oko helps instill a sense of the unfolding chaos through the use of dissonant, off-kilter riffs. Yet they also incorporate some impressive shredding, technical wizardry, and memorable melodic touches, which help allay the oft-used repetitive chugging. Matt Sherriff puts together an impressively schizophrenic performance behind the mic. His convincing swap between deep throaty growls and rasping snarls gives the impression of a second vocalist. On the terrific “Treading Water,” he demonstrates a melodic storytelling capacity that’s just a blast to listen to.
The attention to detail throughout The Undertow to Hate shows that these guys had a ton of fun with the concept. I do wish Eaten by Sharks had provided a lyrics sheet because Sherriff delivers a number of gems. When he rasps “there’s fucking bodies in the water” on “Crimson Tide,” it’s a chilling, almost gleeful, reminder of the destruction wrought. Touches like these help cover up some other flaws, especially the rather simplistic and sometimes headache-inducing loud chugging guitar/drum/growl combo. Nonetheless, this will end up as one of the year’s most memorable listening experiences. If you love brutal death metal featuring effective storytelling and plenty of wiolence, then you need to go out and get Eaten by Sharks.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 4 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: CDN Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: July 17th, 2026
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