Well, well. What a nasty little nugget of thrash metal we have here. Zombiekrig purvey a sound that's ever so slightly on the wrong side of clean, resulting in an album that's just sonically abrasive enough to stand up to the likes of genre luminaries Destruction and Kreator. While "Undantagstillstånd" is an insanely good debut album, it'll surely come into its own when played in front of an audience. Indeed, you can bet your brains that this stuff will slay in a live environment, with the zombie horde clambering at the stage as the Swedish quartet feed them their dose of head-mashing blackened thrash. This album is like Romero gone mental in the music world and, like most of his movies, it doesn't let up for a second. There are some amazing mid-paced sections and, while the majority of the album is simple enough, every element slots together perfectly to prove that ultra-tech really isn't the final word in extreme music. No riff collections on here, just plain, pure, down and dirty thrash played with the sole intention of accomplishing total head removal. Vocalist Axel Widen is the real attraction on here though. His spine-chilling screams and shrieks adhere to a typical thrash standard but offer so much more: they're both disturbing and awe-inspiring in equal measures and they elevate "Undantagstillstånd" to a pedestal that would have been less attainable given a lesser throat-destroyer. This is almost an essential album and a bit more originality and attention to detail on further releases should find the band achieve their full potential. Besides, with a name like Zombiekrig, how can they really go wrong!? - John Norby
Daniel Ekeroth's "Swedish Death Metal" book posits that Sweden was never a good source of thrash and I'm inclined to agree, but of course that never stopped anyone from trying. Hexenhaus is probably the most well-known example from "back in the day" and I'd also add Merciless as an also-ran though they do lean more towards the DM side of things. Anyhow, neither were all that great IMHO, and nor was/is The Haunted, Sweden's leading modern-day thrashers (stretching from the late 90s to now). Lots of strong moments to be sure, but they never totally slay. Zombiekrig however, they steal the crown -- this is exactly what I want from my thrash metal: endless catchy riffs played in lock-step precision with harsh, yet catchy vocals. And forget about The Haunted's overplayed Slayer-izations -- I'd much rather hear strong melodies over chromatic atonalism when it comes to Swedish metal. And how about that break here that hearkens back to "Damage Inc."? Totally killer, just like the mosh part and solo that follow. Also, like all of the best thrash from the glory days up through the present, it doesn't overstay its welcome. Zombiekrig FTW!
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:
01. Sweatmaster - Turnover
02. TALK 1
03. Viola - Leave it all again (feat. Bääbs)
04. Regulations - Down the street
05. The Bear Quartet - Sweet beef
06. TALK 2
07. Mattias Alkberg - Lys upp mig en stjärna
08. Susanne Sundfør - Turkish delight
09. The Skull Defekts - Remain in cruxus (dub)
10. TALK 3
11. Obliteration - Ingesting death
12. Zombiekrig - Håll käften ge mig dina pengar
13. Grande Roses - The astronaut
14. Brutus - Solution
15. TALK 4
16. Ikons - Guns
17. Rising - Grail of bone
18. The Aches - Dancing syllables
19. TALK 5
20. Eskatol - Fane av løgner
Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:
01. Masshysteri - Dom kan inte höra musiken
02. TALK 1
03. David Sandström Overdrive - How the story feels
04. Ludwig Bell - Jag är en idiot
05. Faster Katt - Strange candy
06. TALK 2
07. Zombiekrig - Döden
08. Vorum - Eyes burning red
09. Okkultokrati - No light for mass
10. TALK 3
11. Björn Kleinhenz - Dackes drabanter
12. The Je Ne Sais Quoi - Transparent for you all
13. EL-SD - Sösjö
14. Robert Svensson - Beat
15. TALK 4
16. The Aches - Something to die for
17. Meleeh - Trauma
18. Grande Roses - Hell's own trial
19. Underachiever - Keep an eye
20. TALK 5
Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.
Swedish thrashers Zombiekrig will release their debut full-length "Undantagstillstånd" on April 21 and have posted a new track for preview at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/zombiekrig
Zombiekrig