Escape From The Dead
Luciferal | salt lake city | 02/13/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Allow me to introduce you to the new force in space synth. Hailing from Pittsburgh, the town that brought us the original Night Of The Living Dead from the master of that craft, George Romero. Zombi have taken their name either from the African god rainbow serpent, or more likely from Romero's Dawn Of The Dead which was released in Italy and Spain as Zombi. ZOMBI the "space rock" duo from Pittsburgh have fashioned their music after the likes of Goblin, a 70s Italian prog/synth outfit which wrote many soundtracks for the giallo films of Dario Argento, and in particular, scored Romero's Dawn Of The Dead Italian "Zombi" version. ZOMBI the band here are also influenced by Tangerine Dream and the soundtracks of John Carpenter. If that doesn't pique your interest in this music, move on to other things now.
For those of you who are still reading, this album SPIRIT ANIMAL is Zombi's 3rd full length release (they also have thee EPs, starting from their original demo in 2002), out just last week. Keep in mind ZOMBI is a sort of "post-" outfit, in that they are strictly instrumental. I happened to get lucky enough to see them perform live here in Salt Lake a couple years ago, and these two guys lay down a powerful show, one of my friends described them as "Tangerine Dream with balls". That's not a bad description, as their drummer is on top of their game, striking hard and precisely with a heavy solid beat and dextrous fills. His partner keeps the synthesizer going full-tilt, and for some songs reached over and grabbed a bass guitar, laying in another dimension of groove with that. For two guys, ZOMBI will rock your world into a stunning display of a psychedelic space horror soundtrack for your mind. With SPIRIT ANIMAL, they have added another dimension to their roots by expanding upon the initial "horror soundtrack" inspiration and embarked on something I can only say is wholly their own. The cover of the album is a beautiful image of an African bull elephant charging the viewer head-on in a cloud of stampeded dust amidst a lightning storm. It conjures the spirit of the five songs contained within perfectly. These are long songs, three of which clock in at over 10 minutes, so be prepared to have your mind taken through a virtual odyssey of discovery with the chapters "Spirit Animal", "Spirit Warrior", "Earthly Powers", "Cosmic Powers", and the epic 17-minute "Through Time" as the closer. This time out, Zombi conjure up a stage as vast as the Serengeti. In choosing to focus their cinematic sound upon the themes of the ecology of earth, these guys have truly leapt out of their skins and into something much deeper and more rewarding than their earlier forays. Spirit Animal is a huge step forward for this band, and will easily help them lay claim as the Lich Kings of post-synth, and should bring together disparate fans of these various genres into a mutual audience that is a melting pot of both oldschool and the new. Hail Zombi and long may they reign undead.
"
The score to the film of my mind.
Nicholas Foley | San Diego CA | 12/30/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"One glance at the cover art and without hearing one note I had a feeling I wasn't going to be let down. Come on, an elephant running through a foggy landscape while lightning strikes in the background. Epic stuff. The first couple minutes into the title track establish that these two guys from Pittsburgh are less interested in replicating the Goblin/Tangerine Dream worship of their last album and instead have seemingly decided to take their music into proggier directions. This is at no expense of the keyboards and bass guitar, the most prominent aspects of Zombi's ambitious sound designs. This is not subtle music. Every single instrument synthesized or not, strikes in full effect, with string embellishments hitting as hard as drummer A.E Pattera's excellent command of snare rolls and syncopated rhythms. The title track alone sells the album for me. You could cut it into several fragments and score an entire movie.
The next track "Spirit Warrior" is hands down, the best song to grace my ears this entire year...How to describe it. Unassuming retro synth pattern followed by Pattera's aforementioned sturdy drum work. Hints of a Hammond organ pulsating softly in one channel. A sweeping choir pad comes next, then a sharper synth playing the same melody to more sinister effect. More synths correspond with the opening pattern until it builds to a crescendo, drops out and we're onto the second part of the Spirit Warrior's journey. The synths start receding while changing keys to dramatic effect and then the bass guitar enters, giving the piece a newfound dynamic. The drums come back with an even tighter lock-step rhythm while the bass does its thing. The song is building into something magnificent. A higher ranged melody comes out of the open air while the next two minutes finds the most mournful strings build and build until the song climaxes with every flourish the song has to offer. Just outstanding.
The next three tracks range from good to great, with more repetition and seem to stand apart from the first two tracks, with dancier patterns that are more along the lines of this band's past work. In closing, Spirit Animal is an ambitious album that despite its nearly sixty minute running length leaves me wanting to hear lots more.
"
The Great Spirit Animal
P.K.Dick | Dallas TEXAS | 02/07/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Music for musicians one might say,
but these youngbloods are on to something.
Spirit Animal is prime Zombi.
My wife calls it "dude music",
and that may be so, but then again, I am one hip dude.
Mountains of synths, solid bass guitar but only when needed, as is with the drums, sort of on a need to drum basis. All of this tastefully juxtaposed with some sneaky warm grey toned guitar occasionally sprinkled about as an accent to already wonderful composition. The progressions are sometimes surprising and may seem odd to "pop" listeners, but for those seeking adventures in sound buy Spirit Animal and the rest of the Zombi catalog."
Track Listings (5) - Disc #1