“I reject you, I resent you all so much.“
Modern cybergrind legend, ZOMBIESHARK!, is back once again with the third and final instalment in the personalities series, Die Laughing. Meshing intricate synthesisers with punishingly heavy guitars and the drumwork to match, this release marks an evolution for the project that sees its creator, Cory Swope, at his most creative point yet. Making his intentions clear from the onset, Swope has gone on record in saying that he believes that the cybergrind genre has been lacking in recent years, and that the younger fanbase haven’t truly been exposed to real, heavy cybergrind. Therefore, it is very fitting that this release, lovingly referred to as “the black sheep” of the trilogy by Swope, is a turning point for the project, both being the heaviest and most ambitious piece yet. It’s bound to launch ZOMBIESHARK! into the mainstream metalcore space.
The 16-track behemoth shows just how versatile Swope is, successfully combining Nindendo-core synths, break-core ambience, and MySpace-core heavy instrumentation into one action-packed release. A cacophony of sound, Die Laughing. holds nothing back from the listener and jumps right in at the deep end, maintaining pace consistently across its runtime. Vocally, this release is by far the most ambitious yet for Swope, with him flexing his ability to move between different vocal styles with ease. This, combined with the absolutely stunning production across the album, lends for a very pleasurable listening experience where no one single part of any track overpowers another, and every aspect feels intentional.
It is on tracks like “Loxosceles On The Isosceles” in which this melting pot of ideas and genres is truly realised, with multiple styles of cybergrind being used throughout the duration of the track and the transition between each being executed with perfection. Not to mention the incredible feature from fellow cybergrind and metalcore powerhouse Soulkeeper, which only elevates the track to another level.
Die Laughing. is far from flawless, however, and there are a few key moments that detract from the overall product. One of these would be the tracks “Online Garden Of Eden HD”, and “Home Before Sunset”. Each of these tracks individually is great; however, in the context of those surrounding them, there’s a stark contrast that makes them feel out of place. Having them positioned back-to-back breaks up the pace of the album, and though a short breather is nice, these tracks positioned as they are leaves too much room and disrupts the flow massively.
“Put On Your Glasses, Nothing Can Be Wrong” shows a side to Swope that we have seen more on previous releases, but not so much throughout Die Laughing. This track shows off Swope’s incredibly unique clean sung vocals and serves as a fantastic rebuild to the pacing that we had seen prior to the aforementioned “Online Garden Of Eden HD”, and “Home Before Sunset”. This track is truly a standout moment on the album, combining ZOMBIESHARK!’s older styling with the heavier style utilised across the majority of the release with ease.
It would be rude to not provide a spotlight on the overall lyrical theme woven throughout the release as well. Swope shows massive lyrical maturity on this album, with many tracks covering themes of loneliness, depression, anger, and isolation. Thematically, this fits incredibly well with the atmosphere of the release, with Swope crafting an oppressive and eerie feeling that persists across the entire length of Die Laughing. One lyric that serves as a perfect amalgamation of all of these concepts is used in “Does Barcode Man Believe In God”, with Swope delivering the hard-hitting lyrics: “I reject you, I resent you all so much / But the joke is always on me”.
Overall, this release is truly remarkable and shows off the versatility and skill of Swope and the ZOMBIESHARK! project. It encapsulates many aspects of cybergrind, spanning multiple niches of it, while also propelling it into a much more accessible space through combining it with features of current metalcore. No, it’s not perfect, but it is easily the best body of work to come out from ZOMBIESHARK! yet, and it truly allows for Swope to stand tall amongst his peers as a force to be reckoned with.
8/10
Die Laughing is out February 9th via Theoria Records and can be pre-ordered here.