The Walking Dead Orchestra’s second studio LP Resurrect (Unique Leader), is an all-out beat down of death metal brutality. The album is a one hundred percent drive in chaos from beginning to end. The issue within this, however, is that while the material of Resurrect makes for a whirlwind of adrenaline and aggression, it does very little to provide variety. As a whole, Resurrect focuses so much on constantly beating down the listener with intensity, that the technical aspect fails to keep things fresh.
“Resurrect The Scourge” kicks things off with a choppy progression of drum beats, all before rolling into an utter blaze of insanity. The blast beats and guitar riffs let loose in wild waves, the vocals blending in smoothly into the hysteria. Bits of melody string themselves through the work, adding a tinge of color to a primarily dark and dense tone. The song eventually leads into a droning drive of standard heavy instrumentation. “Through The Realm Of Chaos” continues the relentless pummeling of instrumentals, while introducing a brief solo into the material. The song still comes across far too similar to the previous work, barely setting itself apart from sound and style. At this point, one already knows how each of the songs in the record will play out. By no means is this the most technical death metal band in the world, and where the main issue lies in Resurrect is that the whole acts as a pure straight forward aggressive rush (rather than providing diversity to the music).
“Vengeful Flavors” switches the formula ever so slightly, beginning with a somewhat choppy groove (before shifting back into the all-out brutality). Again, it isn’t that the material isn’t entertaining (for the work breathes with adrenaline), it’s just that the structure of the songs still come across far too straight forward. The slight variations of drum patterns and guitar tones don’t provide much, and unfortunately set the work into a repetitive fashion. Later tracks like “Apostate” follow this same pattern, not letting up on the straight delivery of beating down the aggression, offering nothing unique to the sound.
Resurrect’s thrills only last for so long before the whole of its work becomes stale. For those who just simply want to get lost in the pure brutality of things, this will do the trick for them. The album is pure bliss of chaos, with moments of thrilling energy. But with so many bands today offering such immense displays of technical proficiency, The Walking Dead Orchestra does little to provide anything grand to their efforts, and stand apart from the rest.
Score: 5/10
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYcGr0cX1FI[/youtube]
