Ireland isn’t exactly known for being a prog rock “hotbed,” but if you search hard enough you can always find that hidden jewel; the Picasso hidden under the velvet Elvis at your neighbor’s yard sale. This week I made such a discovery in my search for something new and different…Zombie Picnic. The band released their second album Rise of a New Ideology in March. Honestly, my first thought was death metal when I heard the band’s name, and therein lies the mystery–and the fun–because this band is closer to Picket Fences than Walking Dead…
Zombie Picnic is self described as “…post-rock instrumental…” So with a focus on their latest release, I plan to indulge on as much of the Picnic as I can. Zombie Picnic have two albums in their arsenal, which means double the listening pleasure and lots of mind exercise just in time for spring. First up is Democracy Cannot Survive; the song opens with a short-wave radio like warning complete with static, and bleeds right into a musical overview of a barren landscape still smoldering as the sun rises slowly. Top notes of Ted Nugent’s Stranglehold days waft through the mist, giving rise to aromatics of Phil Manzanera‘s guitar mastery…an ideology I can relate to…
Next serving placed on the platter is Life-Support Systems, which in an ironic way is much more upbeat. The guitar has a swagger that grabs the drums and struts like the queen of the ball, demanding everyone’s attention. There is a Dreadnaught vibe to this tune, something about the way everything just works together while fun wends its way through the headphones. Zombie Picnic cleared a wide swath on their journey through the prog garden. The instrumental approach is stretched just a bit as Zombie Picnic mixes “message clips” and other spoken background pieces into their sound like parmigiana cheese added to piping hot popcorn; they are intertwined and now the magic is complete.
Zombie Picnic released their debut Suburb of Earth in 2016. It too, is an extremely busy canvas, splattered with bright primary colors that are connected with offbeat hues. This is a quartet that seems to enjoy gathering in the studio and just leaving the world behind. These are two albums you want in your arsenal when breaking in new headphones…
One choice selection to whet your appetite for said debut is The Rama Committee. A mellow opening belies the intent as this song delves deep into your subconscious. There is a calmness along the lines of a Jaco Pastorius/Pat Metheny impromptu jam session throughout the entire piece…smooth as melted chocolate cascading down the sides of a layer cake…
Anger in Storage (Denial Will Follow) is the final serving this week. From the latest album, this cut opens like a Liquid Tension Experiment outtake, only to melt right into a slick, stainless steel smooth, Talking Heads-like walk across a marsh…and oh that voice-over! She leads you right down the garden trail to the briar patch. My favorite thing about this song is not knowing where it’s coming from or where it’s going; you just gotta have faith the guys have the journey mapped out.
Zombie Picnic steps out here to paint with primary colors while explaining the whole “new ideology” thing. This is an album that doesn’t ride the mood elevator for kicks; they swing the pendulum across an emotional and psychological landscape. The canvas is splattered with hues that bleed real passion. It is rare that an album with little to no vocals says so much about a society and its foibles. A prog documentary if you will…peel back the curtain and look deeper…listen to what the metal says…
Savor this one as it blows the cobwebs and dust bunnies from your mind. Zombie Picnic walks that fine line between mind-blowing and thought-provoking with the grace of a dancer in the Bolshoi Ballet. Prog metal is an offshoot of the genre that in my humble opinion is often abused; some bands are loud for the sake of making noise while hiding under the prog metal umbrella. But Zombie Picnic chose a different route much like Will Geraldo when he feels he has something important to say.
Rise of a New Ideology conjures up many things; images of George Orwell’s Big Brother from 1984, the Kent State Protest of 1970, The Chicago Seven in 1968, Martin Luther King‘s March on Washington 1963…the list goes on. The mortar between these bricks is ferocity. Prog music has the ability to be intense even when it whispers through the headphones…all you have to do is listen. Zombie Picnic harnessed that energy and is able to whisper and scream without scaring you off or losing your interest.
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