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At the end of the summer, the latest album from Mexico's Zombiefication, Procession Through Infestation, quietly snuck out into the world. The release date wobbled around a bit, and I didn't see much of a publicity push either, which is a shame, because the band consistently puts out some of the best death metal around. Zombiefication's primary members are Arturo Vargas on vocals and and Jacobo Córdova on bass and guitars (credited as Mr. Hitchcock and Mr. Jacko, respectively). Córdova was recently lauded in these very pages for his participation in Majestic Downfall, and his work there is indicative of the quality of music you can expect from Zombiefication.
At the time of this writing, there are only two tracks available for streaming on Bandcamp--"Procession" and "Infestation"--but they're fairly representative of the album as a whole. If you dig what's playing there, I can't imagine you not liking this album. In fact, I can't imagine anyone not liking this album, period. Zombiefication does a lot of things well, but there are a few things that stick out to me in particular. The vocals, for one, show a fantastic variety. There are plenty of the de rigueur low gutturals, but Vargas isn't afraid to let his voice lift up into a higher, positively unhinged sounding howl. Added to that, Cordova is a fantastic guitar player and riff writer. It's nearly impossible not to have your brain infected by the doomy main riff in "Crossing the Rite" or not pound on your car's steering wheel along with the thrashier riff in "Infestation." They're heavy as all get out, sure, but they're also melodic and memorable.
The cherry on top of all this is how they structure their songs. Sometimes you're just in a mood for an unbroken WALL OF BR00TAL, but Zombiefication knows how to break up their sound. Don't worry, there are no 7-minute ambient tracks here or pointless spoken word interruptions--the relief comes in change ups in tempo and texture inside the songs themselves, like the quieter arpeggiated riffs that show up at the midpoint of "Infestation." During a particularly long and painful commute, I listened to this album almost three times through without a break, and I never got tired of it.
If you're nervous about only hearing two songs, I can understand that, but this is the sleeper death metal hit of 2014, and more people should be listening to it.
[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]