When you look upon the artwork of this album and you see a gritty decayed scene of tombstones, ravens and an emerging Zombie hand you uncover more references to the afterlife the longer you look. They do say you hear with your eyes first… or was that eat? Either way the phrase works in this case! And it certainly sets the scene for the sonic series of soundscapes in store for the listener.

Headcount rising opens the album with a super speedy morsel of death. The meat-grinding combination of guitar riff and drum barrage throws you into a chaotic universe laden with rotten prizes waiting to be uncovered. The evil tone of the vocals adds an intensity to track that feels as if the story is narrated by the undead themselves. I appreciated the bass solo outro as it felt almost theatrical in it’s delivery, equivalent to a scene ending as it added an audible punctuation mark.

By the third track, Molten, it’s very apparent just how good of a production they have on this album. The band have really put together a high quality production that i’m certain every listener can appreciate. The mix of individual elements sit perfectly in place so you are able to appreciate each contribution to the overall deathly sound. Molten is laden with tasty double-tracked vocals and groovy riffs that get you moving around in your chair and fighting the urge to jump up and stamp around the room trying to break the floorboards.

Track 4, Decontamination, is an example of just how much i love that chuggy head banger element of death metal. Theres no better feeling than rattling your brain inside your skull as the riffs grind your soul into a dark mess. The low guttural vocals are excellently delivered throughout the track and as it all slowly fades away in the end it leaves you feeling like you could have listened to so much more of the story!

Things take a more upbeat turn in ‘Gutsplit’ believe it or not. There are some really cool groovy riffs and bright drum patterns cemented together with prominent bass lines that almost have you feeling like youre in some sort of construction zone surrounded by a cacophony of machinery noises. It’s a welcome change but you shouldn’t be fooled by this false sense of safety.

Eternal hour explodes with brutal speed, grinding into your skull like a jackhammer. This track is full of brutality and aims to assault the listener with its sinister horror-filled cadence. I can imagine this would be a soundtrack worthy to play over a feeding frenzy.

‘Reincarnate’ provides a soundscape that perfectly encapsulates how an apocalyptic atmosphere could sound and feel as it acts as a countdown to your demise bringing you to the penultimate track, Severely Severed.

An expert display of deathly goodness with speedy riffs and machine gun drum patterns with the addition of impressive bass lines that make you lose your mind for a snap second as you wrap your head around the insanely sick presentation you’re confronted with! The vocalist knows exactly how to place the vocals in a way that keeps the intensely sinister tone of the music while accenting the brutal delivery of the instruments. This one really gets the blood pumping!

And our journey through the apocalypse comes to a close with another brutal number, The Demigod. With some huge riffs and demonic vocal parts this song really caps off the adventure with a satisfying offering. There are some different vocals techniques offered throughout and an unrelenting barrage of the finest death dealing in the land! Hats off to Mutilated by Zombies for producing what can only be described as a gruesome adventure through madness and chaos with some dark-beauty respites along the way!

I was impressed by the talent and skill of the collective, it takes a lot of work to produce such a high quality dealing such as this and you should be very proud of it’s outcome!

The riffs are enduring and all encompassing with the drums carrying the intensity and groove. I was happy to hear the bass contributions throughout each track as it adds extra elements to the sections that really make for a memorable delivery.

I give ‘Scenes from the Afterlife’ 9 decaying brains out of 10!

Scenes From The Afterlife is due out on 8th March 2024 via Redefining Darkness Records! Head over to Mutilated by Zombies pages now to follow for updates on where you can buy and listen to this kick ass album.