OHIO SLAMBOYS is one brutal death duo that arose out of France in 2017. And, while not too much is known about them, it is apparent that their brand of slam focuses on zombie outbreaks and other apocalyptic themes and, if their bio is anything to go by, they are here to save the day. Featuring one member from black metal project Cainan Dawn, these two slamboys have released their second offering (and debut full-length) to the world very recently, just in time for us to check out!
Serving as a more 'fleshed out' (pun intended) follow-up to the artists' EP You Won't Last Long In Ohio, this new album really sticks to the whole zombie narrative well, with its eight songs having one word titles that compile into a message of sorts and an amusing, if a bit cheesy, cover art as well. The release isn't too lengthy, only about 27 minutes or so, and it is available on digital as well as special edition 'pirate' format and physical/CD format through both OHIO SLAMBOYS and their label Pathologically Explicit Recordings (available for pre-order now).
To be quite honest, the slammy riffs and fast blast beats are all too familiar. But the thing that grabbed my attention most was the insistence to take on a thematic outlook for this one. Even though the over-the-top pig squeals and hig pitched gutturals are incomprehensible (as expected), I still got an enjoyment out of some of the smaller aspects of this release. For instance, there are some sections, such as in the opening track, where there will be a background guitar riff that will lead into a fast paced double bass section. The vocals themselves blew me away at times with how out there and destructive they come across throughout.
Slammy as hell from start to finish, there are other elements that sometimes take the forefront...like the *sort of* guitar solos and tremolo picking riffs in the second song that go into the outro and vocal break in track five that caught me off-guard. Everything sounds decent, apart from the snare at times, which took some getting used to for me. The guitars especially have a somewhat addicting tone that reminded me of other bands like Paroxysmal Butchering or Kraanium with the vocals as well. 'Anything' is a song that is especially groovy and the outro track has a nice instrumental section to finish it off. The innovation, experimentation and promise is there a lot of the time, which makes the content itself extra entertaining as far as slam goes.
ZOMBIE KILLING PROCESS is a slammy brutal death theme-driven album that manages to pack in quite a bit of interesting or amusing elements into its rather short running time. In short, OHIO SLAMBOYS have taken on an interesting and different take on the played out slam formula as a result, making a niche for themselves in the process. I appreciate this album both as a slam-head and as a Resident Evil fan alike...and if you enjoy at least one of those things then I'm sure you will find it to your liking, too.
Fave Tracks: 'Explode', 'Head', 'Anything'
**This release is available now here!**
---------------------------
Support your fave artists and musicians!
-Review by: Dave Raffy
Musician, reviewer, fan & promoter
If you enjoyed this article, be sure to share it with others to help us grow. You can also like and follow us on the social media of your choice with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and support us on Patreon.