Return to Zombieland from Boston electro/industrial metallers Virus Cycle revisits their acclaimed debut album Alice In Zombieland with a collection of striking and impressive remixes of tracks from some of the vibrant talent around the world, each re-inventing the dark creations with their own distinct vision. It is a startling tomb of re-invention, a parallel destructive world with an equally consuming menace to its source.
The music of Virus Cycle, consisting of Johnny Virum (Vocals, Guitar, Drums, Synth, Programming), Damaris (Vocals), and Veronika (Artwork, Social Media), is a disturbed and addictive combination of horror borne lyrics, resonating beats, and guitar grinds which scythe through and ignite the senses from within an intrusive and haunting electronic consumption. It is a Resident Evil/Doom like soundscape spawn from the carcass of Night Of The Living Dead and 28 Days Later or as the band bio states ‘a post-apocalyptic future of death and decay, ruled by the flesh-eating undead’., the film the band name was inspired by. It is this heart which provides the core ignition for Return to Zombieland. Released February of last year Alice in Zombieland was an inspiring ‘Post-Apocalyptic Industrial Zombie Tech’ corruption of the senses Return to Zombieland is its mutant bastard sibling and equally as hungry and rewarding.
Return to Zombieland opens with two new and original songs from the band in Bring You Down (Forever) and 
City Of The Dead. The first seeps through the ear with an atmospheric whisper behind a film sample before disturbed predatory riffs surge in and out. Intensity increases as the monster stirs, the excellent near lifeless vocals permeating every note and syllable with a decayed breath brought on a pulsating wave of agitated beats, hypnotic bass, and scathing riffs. The track is outstanding and infectious, the instigator of much impatient anticipation for the new album the band are working on. City Of The Dead too leaves nothing but an over enthused eagerness for the future work. The track is a crawling venomous violation, its heart tar black and intent malevolent. With warning calls throughout the festering aural decay enveloping the senses ensures there is no escape from its immoral smothering, the song immense and provocative
From here on in re-mixes light up the ears in varying degrees though it has to be said there is a high consistency which leaves many other similar styled releases to shame. First entrant is The Last Man On Earth (Blutaenasche Mix). The original track by Virus Cycle is an invasive sprawl of decayed energy, a slow moving fully intrusive assault whereas the remix sparks fires of melodic energy sparking far more hope and life than its source. Preference looks to the original but the reworking is more than satisfying and brings a different face to the track which is what one asks.
The album contains three remixes of Alice In Zombieland and as many versions of White Zombie. For the first song the Droid Sector Decay Mix is the stand out one though the trio all bring distinct essences of the original to the fore. This version offers the thought of a dawning realisation of the darkness behind the subterfuge of light. None of the three captures the fearful and menacing tone of the original but this is the closest as it twists its own unique shadow. The thumping original transgression of life White Zombie is a track as infectious as it is pure evil and something the remixes capture in varying degrees. The mix by Traumatize creates a more atmospheric overlook of the brewing dark within the track creating safe warmth to barrier in the rot whilst the version by UK band Ghost In The Static gets inside the distorted energy with writhing mesmeric electro fuelled eagerness. The best is from Otto Kinzel, an artist we know from Chemical Distance amongst other projects, and who has since become a studio member of Virus Cycle. His track chews up the senses with a blistered melodic sonic fingering and a rampant primitive energy. He rivals the original the closest and again inspires a keenness to hear his future work with the band.
Other tracks include remixes of Never Again, Cemetery Hill, and Rest In Peace, the three pleasing to a descending level respectively but all intriguing enjoyable efforts. The pair of tracks from Lykquydyzer easily emerged as our favourites, the brilliant versions of The Underworld and Horror Hotel an aural contagion and the strongest infection, especially the first of the pair which dare one say actually outshines the original. With an insistent and insatiable storm to their energy both tracks leave one breathless and eager for more.
To truly get the most from Return to Zombieland you need to listen to Alice in Zombieland too which is not an effort too far and will easily be one of the more rewarding things you do as you investigate the impressive creative worlds of both albums. The pair of releases are available free from the official Virus Cycle website http://www.viruscycle.com/ so no excuses not going and being corrupted.
RingMaster 16/06/2012
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