Album Review: Fetid Zombie – Transmutations (Transcending Obscurity Records)

Carl Fisher 2 min read

Death metal band Fetid Zombie is the brainchild of the legendary artist Mark Riddick. An unstoppable force in the underground, Riddick has put out dozens of releases, mostly splits with bands from around the world, in addition to releasing six full length albums. It’s been five years since the release of his last full length ‘Epicedia’ which came out on the same label, and now Riddick has once again teamed up with some extremely talented musicians to fulfil his vision of dark and atmospheric death metal that is rooted in the classic heavy metal sound.

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Transmutations will be released on July 30th, 2021 via Transcending Obscurity Records.

Oozing darkness, evil intentions and with a savage underbelly, Fetid Zombie bring us death metal from the graveyards. The stink of rotting flesh permeates through everything, but the strong atmospheric touches adds a b-movie horror feel to things. The combination of musicians, led by Mark Riddick, creating disturbing heaviness that is methodical and focused but unrelenting. Especially when they’re throwing out epics like the 8+ minutes of Chrysopoeia and Breath of Thanatos.

The bookend tracks, both of those show off the dirty detail in the most impressive of ways. While also showcasing the atmosphere that makes these tracks more than your average death metal release.

In between those horror-infused epics, Conscious Rot leans towards a blacker side of the extreme. The howls of the vocals are extremely dark sounding. Beyond Andromeda’s guitar sound has a strong ‘classic’ heavy metal flavour. Dreamless Sleeps Awaits is surprisingly melodic with ethereal female vocals and Deep in the Catacombs is just a straight up slab of chaotic death metal heaviness.

The variety in sound, the blend of heavy metal, black and death combined with dark atmosphere is what makes this album stand out.

Fetid Zombie – Transmutations Full Track Listing:

1. Chrysopoeia
2. Conscious Rot
3. Beyond Andromeda
4. Dreamless Sleep Awaits
5. Deep in the Catacombs
6. Breath of Thanatos




Links

Bandcamp | Facebook | Transcending Obscurity Records

Author

  • Owner/Administrator/Editor/Writer/Interviewer/YouTuber - you name it, I do it. I love gaming, horror movies, and all forms of heavy metal and rock. I'm also a Discworld super-fan and love talking all things Terry Pratchett. Do you wanna party? It's party time!

Fetid Zombie - Transmutations (Transcending Obscurity Records)
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