As I trudge through the "urgent releases" section of our website, I've come across "Zombie Chronicles Vol. 1" by the death metal band Season of the Dead. This LP was released back in November, but I'd rather listen to it now than never. Season of the Dead has two bassists, two vocalists, one album, and thirty-four minutes to impress me.

"Necromancy," the opening number, starts slowly with chants and eerie footsteps... and it continues for over three minutes. Pained screams and sirens join this boring cacophany of sound effects, and this sequence could've taken thirty seconds max. The first proper track, "Then We'll Rise," spends another minute getting into the music. The vocals are the immediate standout - they're dissonant and ghastly. Airy, if you will. The drumming and riffing are of medium pace, and even with two bassists, I'm not hearing a lot of bass. The track really slows down near the end, where things get plain boring. This song was released as a single, and a poor choice if you ask me, because if I heard this, I would not want to listen to the full album. The following track, "Voodoo Ritual," was the other single. The disgusting vocal performance is less distant than before, and the longevity of some of the high-pitched groans is quite impressive. While the song feels empty at times, this was a quick improvement from "Then We'll Rise." If Season of the Dead keeps improving with every song, I'll start to warm up to them. "Events Of Flesh" grooves from the start with a riff I swear I've heard before. Some keys start their activity, but quickly fade to make room for the barrage of metal. The mixing is a tad tinny, but the resurgence of electronic elements creates a wall of sound for the guitars to bounce off of. Half of the LP is done, and I can't say I'm impressed just yet.

"Open The Gates" takes on a melodic feel, but as the name may suggest, nowhere near At The Gates. More spacey synthwork finds its way into the composition - which is taking its sweet time, by the way - and it works okay. Just another boring song on the tracklist. "The Other Side" continues the tradition of the band by starting a song with creepy ambience, then jumpscaring you with the vocals. I admit, this time I flinched. The electronics are WAY too overbearing in this track. I mean, they start to sound like an EAS alarm after a while - maybe a good thing to warn listeners about this album. The song eventually erupts into chaos, ending soon after. "Burning Moon Sickness" has one riff and abuses it throughout the entire track. Manical laughing (induced by the burning moon sickness) begins and ceases quickly. "Bloodfreak," the longest track on the project, has the responsibility to end it. It does. Ta daa.

Season of the Dead's first-ever album, "Zombie Chronicles Vol. 1," offers nothing new to the death metal genre, and the overall listen was quite boring. I felt nothing from "Zombie Chronicles Vol. 1," but I can highlight one thing - the vocals. On almost every track, the vocal delivery is insane. The harsh, strained wails are held for admirable lengths. Besides that, I can't talk much more about this album.