(written by Islander)
I always relish the opportunity to brandish the often bizarre and blood-curdling artwork of Paolo Girardi at the top of our site, and as you can see, we’ve seized the opportunity to do that again today.
This ghastly painting also happens to be a literal representation of the title of the album that it adorns — Rotting on a Golden Throne. That album is the fourth full-length from the German high-octane neck-wreckers Zerre, which is now set for release by Dying Victims Productions on March 27th.
What we have for you today is an official video for the new album’s explosive title song. But before we get to it, here’s the label’s preview of what the new album brings us:
Darker, more overtly political, and more aggressive than its predecessor, this fourth full-length dives headfirst into the rot of power, corruption, and human decay – a brutal soundtrack for a world teetering on the edge.
Onstage, ZERRE embody the chaos of their music: riff-driven assaults, breakneck tempos, and a raw intensity that leaves no room to breathe. On record, while those influences still remain, but the DNA has been splintered into something more unique and definitely more powerful: thrashing, yes, but within a crossover framework that feels titanic.
And now let’s get to what we’re premiering today. Like Paolo Girardi’s cover art, the video includes its own depiction of a wealthy lord who (eventually) faces his own downfall and decay, but one whose greed and gluttony dominate his early appearances. The video also includes electrifying footage of the band tearing through the song, and makes their on-stage charisma quite apparent.
As for the song, you really do need to loosen up your neck muscles (and all your other muscles) before diving into it. Zerre waste almost no time revving their engines (and revving yours as well), igniting a hard-charging and fast-pulsing barrage of hammering beats, surging chords, and manically darting notes — and then following that with a piston-pumping and compulsively head-bangable throb. By now, you won’t be sitting still. But there’s still a lot to come.
Furiously high-flying howls arrive to spray raw rage above a poisonous dose of blaring and seething riffage, and gang yells enter the fray along with crazed screams, fret-burning ecstasies, and neck-cracking beats. But a sinuous guitar solo brightly swirls around dark chords in a way that lends the song a more sorrowful air.
From there the band continue cycling through the changes again, driving each ingredient of the song even deeper into a listener’s head — but with one big surprise left. The horrible lord expires at last, and as the credits roll in the video the song’s high-octane energy suddenly evaporates, leaving us with an array of ghostly and mystical sensations.
And so Zerre demonstrate why their brand of thrash tends to stand out from the pack: they create adrenaline-fueled, pulse-pumping, hard-hitting music that includes fiery vocal ferocity and a panoply of addictive riffs, but are also adept at creating dynamic changes of momentum, mood, and atmosphere.
ZERRE is:
Tim Müller – Bass
Basti Spahn – Drums
Dominik Bertelt – Guitars
Rocco Lepore – Guitars
Nico Ziska – Vocals
Dying Victims will release Rotting on a Golden Throne on CD, vinyl LP, and digital formats. Find pre-orders and more info via the links below. We’ve also included videos for two other killer songs off the album, “Pigs Will Be Pigs” and “Deception of the Weak“.
PRE-ORDER:
https://www.dyingvictims.com
https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/rotting-on-a-golden-throne