Zombie Apocalypse This Is The Spark Of Life

As often as I might bitch about discs being too short, there is something remarkably appealing about the brevity and straightforwardness of Zombie Apocalypse. Comprised of eight songs, a prologue and an epilogue (along with quite a few well-chosen sound clips), this disc blasts through about twelve minutes before you even realize what just happened. "Morti Viventi" is the first full song on the disc and I only wish that there were seven more this good. The song is eighteen seconds of fury, this track is pure, unadulterated hardcore. "Red, Black and Blue" follows and combines this style with something very similar to Shai Hulud. This is not particularly surprising, since Matt Fox and Matt Fletcher of Shai Hulud are the primary songwriters in ZA. If I had to sum up their sound in fact, it would be something along the lines of Shai Hulud mized with Over My Dead Body. The riffs are definitely solid in songs like The Dead in the Queue," but what kept me interested was really the speed added to the delivery. "Bastard Shit Bastard" is another twenty second blast that really stands out. "This Day is a Spark of Life" is really the best example of what this band seems to be all about. Relatively simple (but catchy) riffing combined with the occassional burst of speed and well placed samples. This isn't by any means going to change musical history, but it's the kind of fun record that you can throw on, sing along to and just enjoy. Bottom Line: Don't let the rating fool you; I really like this record. I just can't in good conscience rate it as highly as something that's genuinely creative. This record is just a lot of fun to listen to. The fact that I am a Hulud fan probably didn't hurt my enjoyment of this disc either. If you are looking to pick up something you've never heard before, Zombie Apocalypse is not that something. "This Is A Spark Of Life" is the kind of record where you can tell the band is really just enjoying themselves and it comes through in the music.