Impetigo: Horror of the Zombies

Sick, twisted, and absolutely fucked up. Impetigo's Horror of the Zombies is one of the most fun albums to listen to when in the mood for horror and gore. This is easily the band's best album, and unfortunately the band chose not to try to follow this up to date. The band broke up after it was released and although they have reformed for some anniversary shows, have not put out another full length album.

Impetigo blends death metal and grindcore beautifully into one of the sickest sounds ever. The riffs are not fast but are groove-laden and catchy. The bass rumbles along underneath the riffs providing more earth shaking tremors. The drums are possibly the best musical attribute on the album. They are some of the most interesting patterns in extreme metal. The drums are not played particularly fast, but they are technically very impressive. They are constantly present and blend with the music extremely well.

The vocals sound as if zombies were actually recorded. There are some vocal effects that are used to great effect, enhancing the listening experience that much more. The vocals are double-tracked and are often deep, decayed growls that sound as if they are coming from the grave. Every once in awhile vocalist Scott Dobbins will unleash a blood curdling shriek or do something else unexpected which further adds to the horror of the music.

Lyrically, Impetigo deals with gore, horror, and more horror. The band incorporates several clips from horror movies into the album. I recognize Wizard of Gore and Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, but there are others along the way. This further adds to the storytelling aspect of the songs. The band references these obscure horror movies and provides clips to go with the references.

The production on the album is incredible. It is thick and dirty sounding, yet clean enough to hear everything that is happening on the album. If all grindcore sounded like this, I would probably enjoy the genre a little better.

This album is a ton of fun. If only Impetigo had stuck around a little longer to follow it up. The band is a cult favorite, but they could have gotten much more acclaim had they kept at it. As it is, this is a great, somewhat obscure album.