Beheaded Zombie - Счастье Для Всех (CD)

Review
Metallized.it
7/10
18.02.2010

Anche in Russia qualcosa si muove, e non sono solo i corpi barcollanti di individui alle prese con i fumi di una pesante sbornia al suon di vodka.

Sono già diversi anni che questo pensiero ronza nel mio gulliver (Arancia Meccanica docet), e il nuovo full-lenght dei Beheaded Zombie non fa altro che rafforzare tale ipotesi. Già la Solitude Production, seppur in un ambito completamente differente (slow oriented), ha abituato tutti noi a prodotti di grande qualità. Hieronymus Bosch, Perimeter, Rest in Pain, MysticalGate, Defect Designer, e appunto questi "zombie decapitati" sono la creme di una scena death che, benché confinata e poco conosciuta dal grande pubblico, inizia a dare segni di vitalità (scusate il gioco di parole).

Il combo moscovita, giunto all'onorevole traguardo della quarta release ufficiale, conferma avere i numeri giusti per attirare le attenzioni di un audience particolarmente esigente. La formula proposta è infatti un metallo della morte virtuoso, che molto deve agli immensi Atheist, Pestilence di Spheres e, più in generale, alla scena technical dei primi anni 90. Dimenticate quindi le produzioni opulente, suoni moderni e velocità ipersoniche: i Beheaded Zombie hanno lo sguardo costantemente rivolto verso un passato leggendario e glorioso. I nostri prediligono tempi dispari mai troppo frenetici, perfezionati da una ritmica di derivazione jazzy nella quale le linee di basso conseguono protagoniste. Su questo tappeto si adagia un guitar work vario e sincopato, pronto a lanciarsi in un susseguirsi di soli e arzigogoli disparati, ma anche riff quadrati, spiragli melodici e tante divagazioni caleidoscopiche. Un sapiente utilizzo della psichedelica amalgamata ad un flavour tharshy, nemmeno a dirlo anche in questo datato (leggasi Coroner, Watchtower e Mekong Delta), completano il variegato paesaggio. Saggi che oggi se da un lato perdono l'effetto sorpresa, perché appunto abbondantemente sperimentati in tutte le salse da altri act, continuano a stregare quando eseguiti con cotanta dimestichezza. Il quartetto elude il no-sense e l'effimero sfoggio di tecnica grazie ad un elevato gusto nelle partiture e per mezzo di un songwriting che nulla ha da invidiare alle compagini più blasonate. Certo, la formula di Schastiye Dlya Vseh (che tradotto, echeggia La Felicità Per Tutti) non è affatto immediata e le orecchie meno avvezze difficilmente riusciranno a seguire le fila di un dialogo per forza di cose prolisso. Inoltre la madrelingua, quantunque magistralmente cantata dalla buona ugola di Daria Murder, profonda e dai pochi compromessi, complica l'assimilazione del platter. Oltretutto la mancanza di originalità in senso stretto, unita ad un'atmosfera ovviamente vintage finisce per collocare l'album ad una nicchia ancora più ristretta. Pagato questo scotto, i Beheaded Zombie ne escono vincitori, forti della loro attitudine ed esperienza, tanto da un punto di vista esecutivo che compositivo: Obratnaya Storona Odinochestva e Skazhi Mne, Drug sono l'evidente dimostrazione di quanto espresso.

In conclusione, tutti i proseliti del techno-death/thrash, ancor più se convinti che il loro amato genere non sia andato oltre i nineties, possono gioire e aggiungere questo esotico monile alla collezione. Per gli altri un divertismant di indiscutibile qualità, ma di controversa necessità.

Author: Luca Chieregato "Arakness"

Review
Metal Daze
4/5
02.04.2010

BEHEADED ZOMBIE me atacó, me mató, me comió el cerebro y se dio un festín de sangre mientras de fondo sonaba "Happiness For All", su último trabajo editado el año pasado.
Formados en 2002 en Moscú, este cuarteto de Brutal Death Metal muy reconocido en el under de su país, nos entrega un devastador álbum de diez canciones enfermas, muy técnicas en su desarrollo y que, a su vez, pese a ser “extremas” en ningún momento se encierran en un solo estilo sino que poseen muchos pasajes donde bases densas y lentas conviven perfectamente y en armonía.
Imaginen que escribir los nombres en ruso no es fácil, así que me voy a limitar a mencionarles que tanto el tema de apertura, como los siguientes nueve que siguen no tienen desperdicio alguno; tanto por su composición como por su efectividad certera.
Pasajes a lo Meshuggah, Nile, y todo el Death Metal podrido que pulula por el mundillo extremo de nuestras vida.
No se lo pierdan, después no digan que no les avisé…

Author: Gustavo Piccini

Review
Atlantis Tales
7.5/10

Новый (получасовой) альбом москвичей BEHEADED ZOMBIE “Счастье Для Всех” вышел благодаря стараниям сразу двух лейблов: BadMoodMan Music (подразделение Solitude Productions) и Technical Sound Records. Странноватое сочетание – если Technical Sound (для которого это лишь второй релиз после MORRAH “Sense Of Brutality”) ориентирован на подобную музыку, то в каталоге BadMoodMan Music сложно найти нечто подобное (разве только отчасти ALLEY “The Weed”). Да и вообще альбом странный и во многом новаторский. Если “Парадигма” (2004) являлась обычным мясцом, а “Линия Жизни” сильно утяжеленным техно-дэтом, то к “Счастью Для Всех” приставка brutal не вяжется совсем. Попытаться описать новую музыкальную формулу, выведенную Обезглавленным Зомби, довольно сложно – среднетемповый (а то и просто медленный) атмосферный техно-дэт, в котором можно заметить отголоски post metal и depressive rock. Впрочем, такой сложный и на вид вкусный букет не гарантирует безграничную и безоговорочную любовь со стороны ценителей стиля – тут и режущая слух на глуховатом фоне прочих инструментов соло-гитара. И звук, не расставляющий в нужных местах акценты на той или иной партии и инструменте. И, кстати говоря, оформление, уже обложкой немного смущающее, а своим кислотно-красочным восьмистраничным буклетом и вовсе повергающее в сильное замешательство... Помимо состава BEHEADED ZOMBIE в записи альбома поучаствовал Letarg (LETARGY DREAM, ОТКРОВЕНИЯ ДОЖДЯ), а братья Ляшковы в свою очередь задействованы в LETARGY DREAM. Кроме того, BEHEADED ZOMBIE продолжили эксперименты и уже после выхода альбома взяли в состав вокалистку. Так что, мне думается, следующий альбом BEHEADED ZOMBIE будет вновь не похож на предыдущие.

Author: Atlantis

Review
Metal Revolution
53/100
20.01.2010

By looking at the booklet and front page of this release I was a bit scared ‘cause I didn’t know what to expect exactly.
Firstly, everything but a band-name is written in Russian/Cyrillic writing, which makes it hard for people coming from non-Russian speaking countries to even grasp an idea what this is all about. Even the title of this album I had to search for on the internet…

Happiness For All may lead ones thoughts towards some popish music, but the fact is that Beheaded Zombie is playing technical death metal with additional thrash and progressive influences. First of all; this stuff is rather messy and it seems like the band itself is a bit confused. I see no clear direction in their overall monotonous music. I mean, there’re few quite good moments where the band adds some psychedelic and experimental progressive elements, but most of the remaining time, it is plain, simple and boring release.
Their singer doesn’t sing that much, and when he does it is mostly grunting, which again damages the music itself. Therefore it is almost impossible to draw comparison to any other acts on the scene, because this is something I’ve never heard of before.

Author: bato

Review
Diabolical Conquest
8/10
07.09.2010

Oh I do like it when a band plays with my expectations. First of all, there's their name - Beheaded Zombie which to me screamed raw, fuzzy, kitsch, B-movie, graveyard, Grind. It's the sort of band name you usually find on Razorback's roster. Secondly there's the day-glo artwork which suggested a band who did not know what they were doing, a band that were a bit confused. Neither of which is accurate. This isn't Grind. This is Technical Death Metal. This isn't confused. This band knows exactly what its raison d'être is.

When you hit play all becomes clear. They have a thing for Human-era Death, some garnish straight from Cynic's Focus, and the robotic guitar sound from Pestilence's Spheres. The only modern trappings are the crispness of the production and the deep, and deeply European (Russian to be precise), vocals (which combined with the technicality of the music puts them in the neighbourhood of Gorod.) That said, I am of the opinion that this school of progressive Death Metal is confoundingly timeless, so it feels contemporary as much as it could also have seen the light of day any time in the past 20 years.

It's the astral, sci-fi feel of Spheres which holds the largest sway over Beheaded Zombie's sound, and their labyrinthine and meandering compositions makes one think they could be Theory in Practice's long lost siblings. It's a very guitar driven album, the rhythm sound is restrained by Metal standards and leads and solos dominate, the work regularly hovering above the 5th fret (or so it seems). It has to be said the musicianship is of an incredibly high standard, and it's not just in the accuracy in the playing, but also in the variety of the sounds the band use, either this is the product of a very fertile imagination or they got new FX pedals at the time of writing the material and wanted to show them off (for the record I think it's the former).

The solos as well show imagination or at least there's a novel approach here where the extended wig-outs have an undeniable free form element; often there is space where it seems the guitarist is following his nose - it's a Fusion influence Beheaded Zombie have in common with, again, Spheres.

The drumming, once more, is accurate and nigh on impossible to follow, non-standard timings and polyrhythms reign supreme. It's the sort of seemingly random performance I associate with programmed drums. That or a dude who's spent too long listening to Confessor.

Which is all good stuff, there's no doubt this album is a chin stroking muso's delight, and on that level I appreciate it a great deal. There's a lot here that's "Hhmmm, yes, I like what you've done here", and "Oh, that's clever ", but there's a dearth of true money shots where the band emphatically delivers the goods. That's not to say there are none. There are. Some great moments are scattered throughout the album, a riff here, a solo there, and from time to time they knuckle down and groove instead of dilly dallying around, but these parts a few and far between. There's too much concentration on satisfying the grey matter and not enough on our baser desires. The biggest negative is the vocals which define monotonous. Some variety, or heaven forbid charisma, would go a long way.

As is so often the case, there's a heck of a lot of potential here, it just needs harnessing correctly with focus (sic) and not a little restraint. Do Beheaded Zombie have it in them? That this is their 4th full length suggests not. As it is, there's a long list of superior examples I'd reach for ahead of Beheaded Zombie for a Tech Death fix.

Author: Ewan Gibb