Zonaria "The Cancer Empire"

[xKALEBx]

Bleak abysmal future, dark deceptive governments, slaughtering for political gain are all common in our world today. Zonaria’s first album “Infamy and the Breed” laid down a great foundation. Now” The Cancer Empire” has taken them from a local label to the worldwide label that is Century Media. It has taken them from the world of mortals to the heights of Mount Olympus with blast beats and brutal yelling or slow melodic harmonic riffs and ceremonial chanting. Being only their second full length album, this epic recording not only blurs lines between the genres of black metal and death metal it also has it collaborate with industrial themes and melody. Simon Berglund has some extreme screams similar to that of dimension zero and brutal growls that resemble Glen Benton. The band expels bliss of razors in your ears thanks to Emil Nyström playing guitar, followed by the quakes of bass emitted by Markus Åkebo. Emanuel Isaksson on drums demands more respect than a judge or even the gods themselves.

[Chris the Mad Scientist @ WSOU]

Here's my review of this amazing album:


There is no denying the fact that modern metal is oversaturated with bands that emulate the classic Gothenburg sound. Far too often, these bands get tossed aside as being the latest to clone At the Gates, even if they have real talent. Zonaria was in danger of being one of these bands. Their 2006 release, Infamy and the Breed, showed a high level of skill, but did little to distinguish them from the pack of other Gothenburg bands struggling to get noticed. However, on their sophomore release, The Cancer Empire, Zonaria have found a way to stand out by adding melodic black metal elements to their traditional sound. The result is the most perfect blend of melody and aggression of any release this year.

Album opener “Slaughter is Passion” immediately displays the newfound influences in Zonaria’s arsenal, with a long keyboard intro akin to those found on recent Dimmu Borgir albums. The symphonic elements remain constant throughout the song and are always noticeable, coupling nicely with the operatic chorus and harsh verses. “Praise the Eradication” reasserts the death metal elements of Zonaria’s sound, adding speed and excellent guitar work to the band’s repertoire. The best comes, though, in songs like “Crowning King Cancer” and “Contra Mundum,” which blend the black and death metal pieces to create a sound that is quite unique and balanced in every way possible. This balance continues through tracks like “From the Abysmal Womb” and “Humanity vs. Sanity,” before ending with the highly melodic “The Icon and the Faceless.”

Zonaria’s new sound displays a unique ability to cross through multiple subgenres, picking and choosing what is needed to create a new, cohesive sound that is very different from many of the more mainstream bands in the death and black metal scenes. The strength of this hybrid was enough to earn Zonaria a contract with Century Media Records and European tours with Satyricon, Evile, and Vader, perhaps signaling the rise of a new popular sound in the modern metal scene.