Judge this Album By Its Cover

With death metal, the band name and album title often tell you all you need to know about what to expect from the contents. Sometimes, as with Lightning Swords of Death, there are some surprises within. Other times, you can gather all you need to know from the first five seconds. Swedish four-piece Zombified’s sophomore release, Carnage Slaughter and Death falls into this latter category.

The first notes are enough to kill grandma: monstrous high and low screaming and blazing drums introduce the title track, as well as the album. After a few seconds, the snare hits halve to allow vocalist/bassist Roberth Karlsson (Facebreaker) room to growl and shout through tales of, well, carnage, slaughter, and death. “Pull the Trigger” is more of the same, starting with apropos gunshot drums, leading to vomit vocals, and eventually a moderately interesting riff.  A couple songs offer slight variations. “Suffering Ascends” starts out a little slower, but eventually devolves into the pattern of the other songs. “Endless Days of Wrath” begins with the impossibly fast pounding, but the chorus is groovier and more deliberate, and bridge offers the briefest of breaks from the onslaught that returns for the end.

The few tempo changes are not enough to isolate Carnage Slaughter and Death from its brethren. While welcome, these respites are not atypical to the genre. What could set Zombified apart is the lack of guitar solos, but founding members, guitarists Patrik Myren and Par Fransson, are plenty busy trying to keep up with Jacob Johannson’s drumming. These comments may seem unfavorable, but if you are moved to purchase an album titled Carnage Slaughter and Death by a band called Zombified, then you know what to expect, and these Swedes deliver exactly that.