ASPHYXIUM ZINE

Thursday, November 12, 2020

Full Length Review: Zombi "2020" (Relapse Records) by Dave Wolff

Band: Zombi
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Country: USA
Genre: Instrumental progressive rock
Full Length: 2020
Format: LP, CD, Digital
Label: Relapse Records
Release date: July 17, 2020
Steve Moore and A.E. Paterra, the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania multi-instrumentalists comprising Zombi, have spent the last twenty years creating something new from a myriad of musical tastes, all to offer it to fans of metal, progressive rock, indie, horror film soundtracks, new age and obscure genres like Krautrock and Italo disco. The duo have about ten or eleven releases to their name (nine of them on Relapse Records) and haven’t stopped reaching for new ground yet. Their latest full length “2020” lies somewhere between Rush, old Fates Warning and Dario Argento’s Goblin, unveiling a different shade of their personalities with each track featured on it. Zombi is one of those outfits that refuse to confinement to any single genre while they refuse to kiss the collective asses of the mainstream and branch out into something bland or mediocre as per expectation. This is most likely the most important factor that led to their longevity. Existing under the radar for so long and being passed over by huge corporate labels led them to take enough space to explore as much as they wanted. I had never heard about this act before getting wind of “2020” but their range suggests the results of their dedication to seeking their own place. Hard, heavy, hypnotic and disturbing are the terms coming to mind most readily, as the band seems to have developed a talent for mixing guitar heaviness, science fiction themes and the menacing quality of Italian horror as seen in old school horror movies like “Buio Omega”, “Antropophagus” and “City of the Living Dead”. The darker aspects of their tastes give the songs an anxious, distressing keenness that’s in splendid counterbalance. That these songs are all instrumental tracks without vocals of any kind make them all the more disquieting, for you never know the exact nature of the menace lurking somewhere in the distance. You just know it’s waiting for you. Give it a chance for yourself and check out their ode to zombie apocalypse movies, “Evans City”, which was also released this year. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:
Steve Moore: Synthesizers, guitars, bass
A.E. Paterra: Drums

Track list:
1. Breakthrough & Conquer
2. Earthscraper
3. No Damage
4. XYZT
5. Fifth Point of the Pentangle
6. Family Man
7. Mountain Ranges
8. First Flower
9. Thoughtforms

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