Welcome to the World of Flesh! That's the message brought to you by THE FLESH TRADING COMPANY on their new album "Zombificated". There's definitely a lot to be said about the subject of zombies, and a lot more to be said about that theme in modern Metal music, and this is another epic chapter in the story of mankind's continual fascination with necroambulism, This album is packed with references to the undead horrors and musically, carries a commanding presence that says implicitly "this flesh shall not be denied of us!"

First off, I have to cite the bands I could compare to THE FLESH TRADING COMPANY. Some songs rang as a mix of LAMB OF GOD and EXODUS, particularly with the thundering bar chord riffs. The vocals were strikingly similar to those of Shagrath of DIMMU BORGIR fame. No real Symphonic Black Metal to be heard here though, not that it matters because of how awesome THE FLESH TRADING COMPANY are. I did however get the sense that this is what music would sound like if FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE dropped the orchestra and explored a more Thrash Metal direction. This album was produced independently, but it's easy to tell that no expense was spared during recording. All instrument and vocal parts come through clean so the listener gets the concert feel coming through the speakers. The tracking and mixing was done with precision and each song seems to flow sequentially.

I have to say, this is one of the best albums I've heard from a band I wasn't really familiar with. Their sound is self-described as "Heavy, Deathy Thrash Metal" and damn if it doesn't live up to that. These guys know exactly what the fuck they're doing. Being from Germany, they undoubtedly follow closely to the Teutonic Thrash Metal mantra and "Zombificated" is a truly magnificent effort.

There is too much awesome over the entire album to pinpoint exactly my favorite parts. I did like the speech excerpts which were included on a few tracks from what sounds like a 50's horror film. It gives it that little extra something to tie in the undead theme of this album. Their ability and skill to write new riffs and material is apparent and this band needs some serious exposure among the various outlets in the Metal music world. Heard on "Zombificated", they have a unique and distinguishable sound musically-speaking. The guitar solos and effects, the tempos, the percussions, and the vocals all combine to say "This is definitely THE FLESH TRADING COMPANY." It is a straight-in-your-face bona fide audio assault and they take no prisoners.

As I mentioned previously, I wasn't very familiar with this band when I first came across "Zombificated" but my curiosity has peaked and as a fan of Thrash and Death Metal in general, I am in fucking love with this album. Whether you're running from an army of zombies or just waking up for the day, or no matter really what you're doing, this is heavy theme music that makes even boring shit worth doing. I've only ever said that for a few songs or albums in my entire life, but this is absolutely high-quality Metal. So get ready for the total onslaught to be unleashed on Planet Earth, courtesy of "Zombificated" from THE FLESH TRADING COMPANY!