(CD, Iron Shield Records, 2013)
ZOMBIE LAKE and “Plague Of The Undead” sound more like two titles/names from the movie industry and less from the Metal scene. Well, in fact “Zombie Lake” was a movie made back in 1981 - a time period when zombie movies were very popular. But in our case, “Plague Of The Undead” is the debut album of the American/Swedish Thrash band ZOMBIE LAKE, who was formed back in 2002 by Antman (ARKHAM 13), Derek Schilling (ARKHAM 13, PSYCHOMANTHIUM) and Martin Missy (PROTECTOR, ex-PHIDION, ex-RUINS OF TIME). In 2013, Ryan Lipynsky (THE HOWLING WIND, ex-UNEARTHLY TRANCE) joined the band as a second guitarist.
“Blood! Blood! Blood!” is the album opener getting straight to the Thrash mood with killer riffs, pounding drums, harsh vocals and overall hearty old school atmosphere, while the repetition of the word blood gives a certain warlike feeling to the song, offering some quality headbanging time. Keep in mind though that “Plague Of The Undead” is not a typical Thrash album with just the mind-blowing instrumentation and frenetic rhythms, although there are plenty of those in “Flesh Gor Frankenstein”, “Strontium Dog”, “War Of The Worlds” and in the title track. In the biggest part of the album, the tempo varies from moderate to slow but this has nothing to do with the intensity of the music, since the guitars and the double bass drum keep everything on the Heavy side. There are also some Black Metal finishing touches, especially in “War Of The Worlds” with the frozen riffs, the dark atmosphere and the harsh, almost screaming vocals by Missy.
“Plague Of The Undead” is a pretty heavy album with clear German Thrash references. I would also like to spot a couple of downsides like the feeling of repetitiveness or that some songs are bigger in duration than they should be, but that doesn’t mean that the songs are less well-written and executed. In other words, this album will put ZOMBIE LAKE on our to-check list and keep a reminder to check them out for future releases.
7/10
Links:
Tracklist:
01. Blood! Blood! Blood!
02. Emperor Of The Walking Dead
03. Flesh For Frankenstein
04. The Cemetary
05. Deceased And Obsessed
06. Brain Frenzy
07. Blessed Are The Deasd
08. Strontium Dog
09. War Of The Worlds
10. Zombie Lake
Lineup:
Golem Missy - Vocals
Derek Neglect - Bass, Guitar
Antman - Drums