Audio Adrenaline

Item: Some Kind Of Zombie
Author: Mark J. Aylor

Some Kind Of Zombie

(1997)

Reviewed by Mark J. Aylor

Discogs Apple Music TIDAL Amazon Music Spotify YouTube Music

Label ForeFront RecordsThe Phantom Tollbooth1997

alternative rock ccm pop rock

The boys from Audio Adrenaline are back to serve up their fifth album, the follow-up to Bloom. The same lineup returns, along with a little guitar help from Tyler Burkum in filling out the sound. Some Kind of Zombie, however, seems to be a case of should have been--it should have been great, but it wasn't. This was a bit of a disappointment for me.

Technically, Some Kind of Zombie is as good as Bloom. Audio A continues into the mainstream alternative sound they journeyed into last time. Unfortunately, there's nothing new or groundbreaking done on SKOZ. The production is as one has come to expect from ForeFront and Ardent Records -- crisp, professional, and flawless. Unfortunately, it just doesn't raise the music that last notch and take it over the top to excellent. It makes me wonder how much of a hand executive producer Eddie DeGarmo had in the production. Musically, the boys still know how to put together a professional sound. The music just isn't 'stop me in my tracks' good like Bloom. My enjoyment of the last release could be attributed to the style change alone, but none of the songs here stick in my head like those from Bloom did. I was expecting Audio A to continue the progression they've shown with each new album, but they seemed to take a step back here. SKOZ seems old and stale, center of the road, mere pabulum for the benumbed CCM listener.

The vague vocal flavoring of Audio Adrenaline's hip-hop past is still there on "Blitz," which the Supertones' Superhorn section helps out on, but otherwise this is a continuation of their journey into the mainstream market. The percussion and bass construct a solid platform for the music to build on. The complete sound is a little more retro, with fuzzy but not quite noisy guitars and simple straightforward rhythms. This is most prominent on the Beatle-esque "God-Shaped Hole," and the 70's-ish tunes "Chevette," "Flicker," and "Superfriend" (the latter complete with fuzzy vocals and an end fade-out by a guitar plugged into an old style tube amplifier). I guess that since the 70's sound is making such a big comeback right now, Audio A is attempting to tie their popularity to the trend and cash in on it. Even in the liner notes the dress of the band and the photography is a 70's style.

The boys have not compromised their values and ideals. The lyrics are as convicting and Christ-filled as on Bloom, but a little more mature and subtle. They are still about preaching the gospel in their own unique way. They use some good allegory on the title track and here on "Lighthouse":

Legs and Arms are burning
Swim against the tide
Keep an eye above the water
So I can see the light
I'm a man overboard
I dream about the Savior
I dream about the shore

I feel the sand
You take my hand
And we walk forevermore
I'm a man overboard
I'm a man overboard

If it wasn't for the lighthouse
Where would my life be
On a ship bound for nowhere
On an unforgiving sea
I thank God for the lighthouse
I thank God for the light

It still won't take you too long to find the meaning behind the lyrics, but Mark Stewart's delivery breathes life into the simple words, and gives them the energy they need to carry the message.

The album has a hidden eleventh track -- a "Criscoteque" remix of "Some Kind of Zombie." I like the remix better, with the exception of the vocals. The original version is too up and down and just doesn't flow well. It starts out solid and rocks during the bridges and choruses, but the verses are weak from Jars of Clay-sounding prerecorded drums surrounded by ethereal orchestration. The remix is more straightforward and flows better, but the vocals don't come through as well thanks to the added fuzz.

This is really a mixed bag. For big Adrenaline fans and those really blown away by Bloom, this is a must have. Otherwise, it's good but nothing to raise the dead.

3 tocks