The trio that brought us the finest in self styled Zombie Shark Core have been back in the studio for their 2nd album and the follow up to 2014’s “Death Aquatic” (which you can read about elsewhere on these here pages), the first release provided a run through all things zombie related to include zombies, sharks and zombie sharks… along with the odd reference to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles thrown in for good measure, so where do you from there?
Well the bands new release “Death Jurassic” features 7 tracks about dinosaurs, nuclear warfare, dragons and of course more shark and zombie related silliness as well as a couple of samples from the Evil Dead 2, Jurassic Park and Terminator, all of which is crammed into a mere 15 minutes of ferocious skate punk.
It’s no secret that I really enjoy the SLM live and the bands first release embraced all that had provided them with a cult-like following, but moving into “Death Jurassic” tracks such as the pairing of “Terrordactyl” and “Terrorsaurs” has the SLM going down the same route as they have on stage – the impressive speed at which the band play seems to have increased dramatically, but listen carefully and you still hear some integrate guitar licks and crazy drum fills among the novelty factor of the lyrical content.
Then there’s the Evil Dead horror film inspired “Off at the Wrist” where you can picture the fist pumping chanting in a sweat filled room, an image that’s also conjured up for the all too brief “Turtle Shark” tag-line of “Turtle Shark will eat your face” before it descends into a frantic guitar solo.
When it comes to “Sword of the Dragon” there’s something of a curve-ball from the SLM, it’s an epic 6 minute piece which alone almost doubles the length of the whole album, combining a love of skate punk of NOFX with that of 80’s power metal and it somehow works – musically it’s got a structure that you’ve become to expect from bands like Iron Maiden, but with vocals that still don’t take themselves too seriously.
The whole thing then ends on a Terminator sample but if that’s not enough you can always purchase “Death Jurassic” on the rather attractive piece of colored vinyl, give it a listen and then turn the 12″ over to check out the whole of original album “Death Aquatic” on the flip side… and of course once you’re done there go out and see the SLM perform it all live, but be warned for once you get sucked into the shark pit there’s no swimming back.
“Death Jurassic/Death Aquatic” out now: www.theslm.bandcamp.com/releases
