Fetid Zombie are one of the many outfits involving Mark Riddick, known for his activities in very diverse outfits such as Equimanthorn, Macabra, Folkearth, The Soil Bleeds Black or Unburied, many of them with his twin brother Mike (Michael). Besides, many of them do know his name from cover artwork and illustrations for bands like Burial Hordes, Arsis, NunSlaughter, The Black Dahlia Murder, Soulskinner and hundreds of others.
With this outfit, Mark pleases (or irritates?) the audience for almost a whole decade, with several studio releases done in mean time, and especially tons of split-contributions with the likes of Battlestorm, Deathevoker, Swamp, NunSlaughter or Necronomicon Beast, amongst others. And now this guy returns with the fifth album, Grotesque Creation, released the digital way via Metalhit, and on cassette and CD through the related label Morbid Visions Music. The result brings almost fifty minutes of deadly ugliness, effectuated with quite a big list of guest colleagues.
And well, what a fantastic surprise this album is. Okay, it does not go for the sound, so I will start with this element. The production indeed is so ridiculously lo-fi, and even if it was meant to be this way, I would say: [self-censorship]. Seriously, I do appreciate a certain ‘underground’-oriented sound for sure, but this is almost insulting.
But when focusing on the compositions themselves, Grotesque Creation is quite another story. This album brings some kind of homage or tribute, I think, to the oldest school of, especially, the Greek scene, and the European one more generally. Okay, for quite a big part it has to do with the guest appearances, done by quite a lot of Greek artists (and not ‘just some’: cf. members involved with e.g. Zemial, Thou Art Lord, Necromantia, Soulskinner, Varathron, Rotting Christ or Swamp), yet still one cannot deny the great, undeniably influential essence of the Hellenic scene. It shows itself through many aspects: the rhythmic riffing, the horrendous synths, the melodious solos, the ritual passages, the convoking vocal lines or the thrashing structures. And the former influences of the American and Swedish influences seem to have been replaced almost completely by this renewed approach.
I guess it might be a ‘problem’ to some, for this album actually brings nothing new, nothing refreshing, nothing that causes a ‘waw’-effect whatsoever. Even I, being quite open-minded, have not totally been convinced by the general result, even after three listens (this must be my fourth mindful penetration). It has not to do with a lack of professionalism or a lack of conviction; I just miss the guts to overpower the over-crowded scene; and I am afraid this album will not succeed to stand out, despite the best intentions and highly qualitative song writing plus superb ideas. But however you try to turn this sh*t, one must recognize the fantastic creativity and vision by the artist behind this project, and when getting rid of (narrow-minded) ideas of cheapness, one might find several highly interesting aspects and elements on this album. You might, no, you must give this album a try, the benefit of doubt, but do not expect the newest revelation either…