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If there’s anyone out there that still buys CDs because they’re impressed with the artwork (as I did many times when buying vinyl when I was younger), beware. Not being familiar with this veteran band from Singapore, Opposition Party’s Zombified looked to me like a Death Metal record at first glance, maybe even Black Metal. What I found after slipping the disc into the CD player was more a punk/thrash metal hybrid; something along the lines of Watch Them Die or Biohazard.
A few listens later, I found myself thinking that if Opposition Party is aiming to be accepted as a metal band, it’s not going to be easy. They’ve neither the chops nor the songwriting skills to qualify. After my third listen to Zombified, I decided that this isn’t a metal record at all. Think Watch Them Die without the metallic aspirations; think Biohazard without the heavy. Do the math and you have hardcore punk.
Zombified exhibits the most rudimentary riffs and gang-vocal choruses, all arranged in the same classic hardcore structure, and played with palpable punk passion but also limited by punk-level musical proficiency. The lyrics also reveal the Party to be more punk than metal; not simply because of their subject matter, but via their by-the-numbers incorporation of all of the all-too-familiar punk rock phrases and slogans.
This may read like a negative review, but it’s not—Zombified is an enjoyable, spirited attempt at punk/metal crossover. As a metal record, it’s severely lacking; as a punk record, it adds absolutely nothing new to the genre. But it absolutely does contain the passion and conviction that makes a good punk record great, despite the limitations of the genre. If you’re into punk rock with metal aspirations, played as loud and as hard as possible with spirit, gusto, and guts, then this record is for you. But it ain’t a metal record…
| Tracklist |
| 1. Zombie |
| 2. Taking Us For Fools |
| 3. Ignorance |
| 4. Brain Fucked |
| 5. Control Your Mind |
| 6. Ever Wonder Why |
| 7. It's Chaos |
| 8. Because |
| 9. Not The Way To Live |
| 10. Land Of Hope And Glory |
| 11. As Good As Dead |
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| Buy other Opposition Party albums |
