Artist: Exploding Zombies
Country: USA
Label: Hells Headbangers Records
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2025
It is not quite the first time I have lauded Hells Headbangers Records for their recent series of Brutal Death Metal re-releases. In recent weeks, I have reviewed albums that I would not be surprised if many people had not thought about in two decades, or that some were completely unfamiliar with. Although reviews are, by definition, not entirely objective, if only because of personal taste and frame of reference, I was very pleased with some of these records that Hells Headbangers Records has revived. Regurgitation, Desecration, Burial, Malignancy and Mortal Decay were welcomed here with open arms and eagerly found their way to my record player.
In many of those reviews, I let myself go and peppered them liberally with personal anecdotes. It took me back to the time when Extreme Metal was still fairly new to me and I absorbed everything like a sponge. As I was writing, I mentioned a number of bands that were important to me in shaping my personal taste when it comes to Brutal Death Metal, such as Sikfuk, Leukhorrea, Skinless, Houwitser, Intense Hammer Rage and Exploding Zombies. Some of them made it big, others remained more in the shadows or have even been completely forgotten. But oblivion had not taken Hells Headbangers Records into account, that even manages to unearth a fairly obscure record like ‘Several Severed Heads’ by Exploding Zombies.
I bought a copy of the CD version by Emetic Records on the Metal Fair at the Dynamo Open Air festival in 2000, I remember I paid 5 bucks for it. At the time of buying, I had no clue what it was and never even heard the band name. But, it was cheap and the cover looked funny and cool at the same time. I grabbed a whole lot of CD’s, more or randomly picked just by their cool name, cover or whatever. Don’t you miss those days?
‘Several Severed Heads’ was an instant hit. Although it was definitely not as good as some of their peers, it has a certain charm to it that is hard to deny and withstand. The nice rolling riffs, blasting drums, gurgling vocals… It all appealed to my youthful ears. The rather clunky song writing and the not quite flawless production, it all really helped shaping what Exploding Zombies was for me: one hell of a fun band to listen to. I think that from the whole series of records in this genre the label has released, this one is by far the most obscure. Or at least, it is a record that I hardly ever see mentioned, if at all.
Yet, now that I have heard it again a good number of times, it still brings me the same joy. ‘Several Severed Heads’ is a prime example that Death Metal, or music in general, doesn’t need to be perfect, nor does it need to aim to be the best or the heaviest. I will take this over a band like Origin or later Gorguts any day of the week. If you’re in for a extremely enjoyable ride that brings you back some quarter century, when the American Brutal Death Metal scene was taking its ultimate shape: this is absolutely worth picking up!
