Zombie Tunes Part 4

Last stop for zombie tunes!

* Awakening by Unleash the Archers



This song describes the state of being a zombie under the thrall of a necromancer. Years can pass with no change. The state is both prison and safety in a way. As a servant, actions are neither good nor evil and it's just an eternal task. This style is right in my wheelhouse and it's an amazing song. The zombie aspect is an added bonus.

* I Was a Teenage Zombie by The Fleshtones



This is the theme song to an 80's horror comedy movie of the same name about a drug dealer who falls into a river and becomes a zombies. The style is retro for the time and it's super cute. There are scenes from the movie and a 60's style dance party with over the tdop acting. Just plain, silly fun.

* Zombie Stomp by Ozzy Osbourne



This song has an epic intro that lasts almost as long as the song does. The lyrics illustrates the constant danger and misery of killing zombies. They keep coming, so you have to keep fighting until  you die. This song is perfect to play zombie video games to especially with the awesome vocals and dynamic guitar riffs.

Zombie Tunes Part 3

* Zombie EP by The Devil Wears Prada



I have extreme emotions about these songs. The story follows a zombie apocalypse situation. "Escape" illustrates how hopeless the situation is and how you can only move forward or die. "Anatomy" describes the disgusting physical changes in becoming a zombie and how the condition is unnatural. at odds with itself. "Outnumbered" captures the feeling of fighting and guarding against the hordes of undead that grow. "Revive" shows the lack of hope or cure in the face of the disease. The last song has a "Survivor" with a bleak outlook and questions if they will ever live without zombies. I love the fast moving metal guitars and the more lyrical singing, but the scream singing is uncomfortable to listen to and literally unintelligible to me. I would recommend it if you like the metalcore style.

* Fight 'Em Til You Can't by Anthrax

The title is pretty self explanatory and the lyrics have some powerful images in them. The entire world has changed and we have to change with it. "Rage becomes your love" and "put your faith in force" shows how humanity has to be put aside to beat the undead. Violence cures the blight and makes it pure. The style is heavy metal with driving guitars, dramatic pauses, and surprisingly lovely harmonies. Anthrax has a modern aesthetic in the instrumental parts with their vocals that bring in their 80's roots, creating a unique sound.

* Waking the Dead by Suicidal Tendencies



This song has a different take than the others. While the others see zombies as an enemy and a menace, this one seeks to raise them. The beginning of the song describes jealousy for the serenity of the dead when the living experiences such suffering. I like this concept of raising the dead out of spite, but then being horrified at the reality. The video is painfully 90's with some pretty awful dance moves and a very cheesy story.

Zombie Music: Aaron Stoquert

I posted about Aaron Stoquert last year about his zombie EP, Run for Your Life. This year (well it was really late last year), he has come out with a full length album called Remaining Days and it's about zombies and the apocalypse!! I am so excited about this album. The style is similar to his EP, kind of an indie folk feel. However, he has some great additions to the instrumentation and vocals. In addition to guitar and drums, there is also a cello. I personally love cello in anything and it really adds something extra even though it usually isn't seen in the folk genre. The addition of Krista Masino as background vocals and harmony is awesome. Her voice fleshes out the melodies nicely and complements Aarons voice. It gives this album a fuller sound than the bare bones EP. 

Now, on to some of the individual tracks. The first track has no lyrics, but has empty radio white noise and a piano playing steady chords in progression. It just really effectively sets up the tension and feeling of the album and the zombie apocalypse. It seamlessly segues into the first song, Flesh and Bone, one of my favorites. It captures the futility of living in this world. You will either become food a part of the zombie horde. Fields at Daybreak has this monotonous guitar  underpinning that reflects the monotony the people in the apocalypse experience, killing zombie after zombie. But to what avail? The Front Lines is a dark song that reveals the darkness and despair of fighting a war against the undead. The militaristic drum beats bring to mind war in a subtle way that also makes a slightly different style than the rest of the songs. A Lock for You is from the perspective of a zombie (or someone who is turning into a zombie) that features some of my favorite lyrics, like "A taste of you in me/ Ties us eternally." All of the songs have their own unique elements, but mesh well together to create a very successfully, enjoyable album. 

So many of these songs capture the emotion and feeling of a situation like this shockingly well. I like that Aaron writes from the perspective of both humans and zombies to get a full view of the world he's describing. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for anything else Aaron is involved in because these songs are not only part of a genre I love, but they are superb. I highly recommend both this album, Remaining Days, and the Run for Your Life EP. You can listen to them all in the widget above or on his bandcamp. You can also purchase the CD or digital album at his site. 

My rating: 5/5 fishmuffins

Zombie Songs 3

More zombie songs to shuffle around and nom brains to!

1) Wake the Dead by The Used

This rock song is deliciously creepy and high energy with heavy guitars and drums. I like that there is just a dash of scream-o added for flavor. It really gives the song a little more anguish and anger.

2) Blood Red Summer by Coheed and Cambria

Although the title of the song is awesome, it's actually the video that is zombie themed. At the beginning of the video, they set traps, fortify their cabin, and keep watch. The rest of the band gets turned into zombies while the lead singer is left all alone, waiting for his zombified band mates to come and eat him. It's actually pretty light hearted for a zombie video.

3) Thriller/Heads Will Roll Mash-up by the Glee cast

I know it's a little cheesy and they tend to autotune the crap out of everyone's voice, but I really like this mash-up of Michael Jackson's Thriller and The Yeah Yeah Yeah's Heads Will Roll. The 2 songs really work well together and I love seeing the Glee cast in zombie makeup. The choreography (that's actually different from the very famous Thriller dance) and spooky football field are awesome. I hope it made a lot of people look up the 2 original songs and enjoy them in their own right. PS they need to give Santana more solos because her voice fucking rocks.

4) The Zombie Love Song by Jonathan Chan

This is seriously the most adorable zombie song ever. It captures images of beautiful zombie love. The ending is kinda gross, but still manages to be cute. :)

Any zombie tunes you guys enjoy? Share them please!

Zombie Songs 2

Zombie tunes to shuffle around to!!!

1) Walk Like a Zombie by The Horrorpops

The Horrorpops are a punk, rockabilly band from Denmark and this song describes what it's like to be in love with a zombie. It's super cute and catchy and I would love to hear more from this band! The fanmade video using images from my favorite movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas is just perfect.

2) Nobody Likes You When You're Dead by Zombina and the Skeletones

First of all, Zombina and the Skeletones is an awesome band name. They are a British band that frequently uses themes of horror and science fiction in their music, which makes my inner nerd do a dance. This song describes the injustices of being a zombie. People just treat you differently. :( I love the video. The band starts out as Tina and the Monotones, but then turns zombie, turning the audience into zombies as they play.

3) Zombies Everywhere by Karate High School

This California band takes a more pop-rock angle to the zombie song. The song describes the zombie apocalypse and, judging by the lyrics, it could easily lend itself to using zombies as a metaphor for blind consumerism, complacency, etc. I like the brain chant in the middle. :)

4) Zombie Me by No More Kings

Another super catchy zombie song with a nice rock groove with a little bit of rap thrown in the mix, describing the zombie experience in a fun way.

Share your favorite zombie songs!

Zombie Songs: Laura Shigihara

You may not recognize Laura Shigihara's name, but you have probably heard of the game she composed the score for: Plants vs. Zombies. It's a super fun tower defense game that's also super cute. You plant different types plants in your yard to battle against the zombies, preventing them from going into your house and eating your brains. If you haven't played it yet, you need to. It's available for the Android, iPhone/iPod, X-Box 360, PC, Mac, Nintendo DS, and even in the game World of Warcraft (except it's called Peaceblooms vs. Ghouls). It has exploded so much since I first started playing it 2 years ago that it's shocking. This game is incredibly addicting, so be prepared to be completely absorbed by the game.

I have spent many hours playing this game and thoroughly enjoying the musical score. The tracks range from peaceful and slow (Zen Garden) to frenzied and energetic (Brainiac Maniac). The atmosphere for this game is perfectly realized in the musical score: quirky, cute, addicting, and, above all, fun. The J-pop influenced theme song, Zombies on Your Lawn, is clever, catchy, and adorable and it always brings a smile to face. Apparently the game soundtrack has been available for download for almost a year, which I did not know. (The theme song in English and Japanese has been available for free since the game released.) Now the rest of the soundtrack is available on Laura's Bandcamp for only $3.99 or you can just enjoy the soundtrack streaming on the website or right here.

I randomly found Laura's Youtube account, where she plays some of her Plants vs. Zombies compositions on the piano, as well as covers of other video game songs, like Still Alive from Portal, and original songs. Here are my 2 favorite PvZ videos:

Laura Shigihara is a talented pianist and composer and I can't wait to see more from her in her upcoming game, Melolune.

Kirby Krackle's Zombie Apocalypse

I posted about my love of the song Zombie Apocalypse by nerd band Kirby Krackle during last years September Zombies. The song is about a guy who is really annoyed that the zombie apocalypse is ruining his enjoyment of life. He just wants to hang out with his friends, update his Twitter, and watch The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. It's my favorite song from their self titled debut album.Just today, they finally created a great animated video for it. My favorite part is the zombie Twitter whale. :) Anyway, feast your eyes on their video filled with awesomeness and zombies!



They have a new album that came out a couple months ago as well, called E for Everyone. You can hear it streamed here.

** This post is for Velvet's September Zombies. **

Zombie Songs Part 2

Here are some more zombie songs from my iPod.

#1. Zombies on Your Lawn by Laura Shigihara has already made an appearance on my blog in my review of the cute, fun game, Plants vs. Zombies. I've done a little extra research and I have found out more information about the song and the voice behind the sunflower. Laura Shigihara wrote all of the music for the game as well as the J-Pop inspired theme song. I didn't know that the song is also sung in Japanese and both versions can be downloaded on Laura's blog here: http://www.mybluedream.com/. She has some great stories here, including how she came up with the sound for hitting a zombie in the head with a stick of butter. There are also some interesting questions answered, lyrics to both songs, and sheet music if you're interested.

Here's the video in case you didn't see it in the last post.

#2. Dead Man's Party by Oingo Boingo is the epitome of zombie music. It rocks, it's catchy, and it's awesome. The band also features front man Danny Elfman, who is my all time favorite film composer. He is a large part of why I got into music in the first place. Anyways, back to the song at hand. I could never get tired of listening to this song. I love Danny Elfman's vocals, the guitar, the brass ensemble in the background. The song is fairly repetitive, which lends well to the catchiness of the song. Now I'm going to be quiet so you can listen to it yourself.