Opener “Blood Falls” reminds me plenty of the fuckin’ amazing Come back from the Dead’s The Coffin Earth’s Entrails.  This is one of those songs (and records in general) where a reviewer’s job is tough.  They pack a bunker-full of bastardized brutality into a tune that just misses the 6 minute milestone marker.  A ghostly blast beat and spectral tremolo picked riffs compliment flickering light melody guitars, all of which had me hooked from the get go.  From there the duo vaults across chest-beating crust with shredding catchy riffage, chaotic old school death metal breaks (with double-bass to boot), strep throat vocal shouts and classic percussive d-beat straight out of the Discharge/Skitsystem book…there’s very little downtime and even some of those atonal, Norwegian swipes reappear albeit in a doomier, crawlier manner.  A few harmonized guitar licks also further the band’s kitchen sink filled with broken glass and razor wire approach.  I think fans of the dark side of Swedish death could even get down on this; the melodies are cemented into place but I’d certainly say this is cut from a more violent and turbulent musical cloth.  “Deliverance from the Astral Sea” kicks off with a cutthroat, Celtic Frost styled creep with some sludgy dissonance balancing out the shearing n’ sharp black metallic bladestorm.  The overall pace is pummeled into a hulking mid-tempo that eventually kicks up and takes off without warning into a walloping speed burst that’s equal parts frigid darkness, ruthless death and mutated, DIY punk.  Lots of shifty, climbing thrash/death flavored riffs are infectious and well-played while those hoarse, rabid vocals just hit my ears in the sweet spot for this kinda stuff.  They even work in doom-y clean segments with a lot of psyched-out flavor on the guitars and some fume belching bass drops that go down deep into the abyss.

“Echoes of Light” has a rumbling, quaking 90s Neurosis bent to the bubbling, boiling tom drums and the vast caverns of slimy, immaculately toned sleaze guitars that truly whip the brain cells into a frenzied fever sweat.  Guitarist/bassist Mr. Jacko really has his tone and writing down to a finely ground pulp.  Slowly palm-muted, slashing riffs interrupted by discordant noise-spires unleash a greasy, gravelly slow-mo thrash punctuated by Mr. Hitchcock’s scumbucket vocal shouts.  There’s a boatload of atmosphere to this track and when they let loose with blasting speed insanity it stomps your head in and pops your heart with a manic glee that sticks out from a crowded pack of bands (in my humble estimation).  There’s some serious rotten 6-string stench in the death metal drum pulverization and blood-lathered guitar dirt in the beginning moments of “From Death to its Son.”  The urgent, hurried pacing and grinding assault reminds me of the doom-y vibes of Incantation or Entombed ripped a few notches faster while oozing from the hole in an old, rotten oak tree.  A balance between thickness and blackened decay eventually lead-up to ascending death-y grooves that oppositely descend into a scathing, abrasive doom hobble with freaky noisy guitar ambiance and slothful tempos sending this 8+ monster into a blood red sky of gratuitous morbidity.  It’s my favorite track on the record…a powerful piece that never lets up for a minute.  This song couldn’t be a better set-up for “Heavy is the Crown,” another top-tier slice of butchery that begins slovenly and slavering but eventually ratchets up into a furious speed freak fest with throatier, more bile-crusted vocals coming into play as the music keeps switching shit up when you need it most.  They also fuck with aquatic psychedelics yet again.  Rounding this motherfucker out, “Hunger is Undying” and “Sky Burial” are also sprawling compositions with several sections.  I’m outta fuckin’ adjective ammo, just take my word for it if you like this kind of skullduggery, every song brings the pain on this beast.

Zombiefication have stepped up their writing, playing and recording game, delivering the best album of their career in Below the Grief.  I could see Deceased fans getting into this thing as well but there’s a wide appeal to fans of crusty, blistering, unrelentingly heavy shit all around.  Their writing encompasses a big chunk of the underground.  Truth be told, I can’t get enough of this record and am already hugely excited to see where they’ll go next.

Though absolutely nothing on At the Caves of Eternal is remotely unique, it doesn’t mean the album – or Zombiefication for that matter – are just a bogus rip-off of everything that was created and released in the early 1990’s. They know how to shred the listener’s eardrums with savage and simple death metal, just the way it ought to be. Overflowing with nods to early Entombed/Grave/Dismember and host of others, At the Caves of Eternal is a treat to hear because of how smooth and deadly it is.

The nine songs on the album are all easily constructed; there are no finesse-laden frills here. They follow the simple blueprint of what made the glory days of Scandinavian (and some American) death metal so, uh, glorious “back in the day.” Easy riffs, simplistic drum patterns, and Petrov-esque vocals make everything about Zombiefication fun.

They don’t try to pretend they are anything else than a couple of dudes who love this particular style of metal and enjoy creating it. With a nasty production that sounds like it rolled right out of 1993, the record is a grimy, dirty, kickass ripper that seems to end too soon. And while this scribe typically loathes programmed drums, the ones heard on At the Caves of Eternal sound as organic and lively as any other heard before (if there is a human drummer behind the tracks, the liner notes of the promo don’t specify as such).

Is Zombiefication or anything they release going to ever be considered original or something that will reinvent the wheel? So far, the answer is a resounding “no” but that doesn’t matter. Unlike the majority of the newer bands playing this style of retro death metal, Zombiefication do a superb job of recreating a lost time in metal that was so precious to many. With Dismember disbanded and Entombed playing a much more rock-laden style of metal for years now, there’s no reason why Zombiefication can’t carry on the old school Swedish sound with their music, even if they are from Mexico.

Reaper’s Consecration consists of five tracks of gruesome death rattling rotting flesh from bone, and the killer riffs ooze forth like hot pus from infected wounds.  References to Dismember and Entombed are pretty obvious but not completely overt.  With music of this ilk, though, it’s hard not to hear classic influences.

Dirty and downtuned, the tracks of Reaper’s Consecration grind in gloriously fast yet groovy buzzsaw fashion.  Quick attack riffs rip forth from songs like “Deathrides” and “We Stand Alone,” while slow and evil grooves emanate from “Dead Today, Dust Tomorrow” and “Necrohell.”  The contrast is good and each track sounds just as gnarly as the rest.

With the recent resurgence of traditionally styled and transplanted Swedeath groups, the existence of Zombiefication is not surprising.  Many of these bands sound like uninspired shit.  Fortunately Zombiefication doesn’t, and they’re pretty good at what they do.  Certainly no reinvention of the wheel here, but good for a quick and filthy fix of gruesome goodness.

Reaper’s Consecration Track Listing:

1. Dead Today, Dust Tomorrow

2. Deathrides

3. Necrohell

4. I Am The Reaper

5. We Stand Alone

To hear “Dead Today, Dust Tomorrow,” go to THIS LOCATION.

ZOMBIEFICATION:

Mr. Hitchcock – Vocals

Mr. Jacko – Bass / Guitars

Live musicians:

Mr. Kim – Guitars

Mr. Brain – Guitars

Mr. Hammer – Drums