While seeking new music recommendations, Razorback Records head honcho Billy Nocera suggested I check out California-based blackened death horror metal act Zombie Death Stench who’s debut, Here I Die…Zombified, is out on Mortician’s own Redrum Records. I promptly ordered the album and I can honestly say I’m glad I listen to the recommendations of Mr. Nocera, because this is one tasty slab of blackened gore!

Considering the guys in Mortician are the pioneers of huhr-fuhr-guhr metal, you’d expect they’d sign bands who are similarly brutal, however, Zombie Death Stench are a huge surprise as their music is unlike anything you’d expect to hear from a label run by the guys who recorded Hacked Up For Barbecue. Here I Die…Zombified is a strange blend of hypnotic horror-themed synths, black metal melodies, death metal riffs, machine-like drumming and a varied vocal approach.

5 of the band members take on multiple roles within the group with members switching between playing guitar, bass, vocals, keyboards, programming and vocals. There are three different members who play guitar, two members who play bass with three separate vocalists. The tone of the material seems to depend on which role each member plays on each given track. "The Fog" is a meaty chugging death metal track with snarling raspy vocals, whereas "Death 1" is a high-paced weird dark electronic black metal with deep guttural growls. No two songs sound alike and on your first listen you have no idea what to expect from the next track as they’re all so different.

After listening to this album over 50 times in the past 3 weeks it’s obvious to me why Billy suggested this album to me, especially now that he’s started his horror movie soundtrack-themed label, and the keyboard/synth material on this album sounds like it’s straight out of some ’70s Italian horror movie or cheesy sci-fi flick, and the metal material itself has a strong "Razorback Records feel" to it. While there are a few elements that I’m not a huge fan of, for instance some of the keyboarding sounds "fruity" and there are songs where a different vocal approach would have been more effective, but on the whole, this is one of the most unique and interesting metal albums I’ve heard in years! If Billy Nocera says an album is good, and I agree with him, then you know it’s gonna be awesome! Highly recommended to all horror metal fans, trust me, you won’t be disappointed!

Written By: Teufel