The first song, Appropriate Hate Crimes contains a thunderous roar of “kill kill kill, like a fucking disease!” that serves as an indicator to the overall mood of the album. The Spear is a well crafted fuck-you to the socio-political milieu South Africans are experiencing. Lyrics such as “trend of the day, rape and betray, the colourful smokescreen of false unity” and “lies and deceit, free handouts and cheats” are fair comment on the apathetic psyche of South Africans.
For me, Burn the Scene is the heaviest song on the album, containing impressive vocals and guitar riffs. This song delivers ample circle-pit material. A vocal burst in Cold Cuts of “you’ll never get it, you’ll never get, you’ll never get it, even though you know we said it!” is heartwarming stuff for a fellow critic of the cesspool called local music.
Jahan’s title is reference to the Emperor of India that erected the Taj Mahal. The phrase “sycophant asylum” stuck with me, evoking a horrific parallel image of a prison or palace filled with people excessively seeking approval and attention.
Dead Russian spans over 6 minutes with weird electronic effects and infectious guitar solos. There are some odd-sounding guitar pieces 2 minutes into the song. The song Maranatha is slow in tempo with impressive arrangements to fit the raspy to spitting variations on the vocals. This song also features impressive bass riffs.
The title-track Retrocide is the only song under 4 minutes. I found the variations of tempo in the chorus particularly interesting. Hail the Disaster is the longest song on the album, containing an interesting breakdown that adds to the superb production and mixing of the album. All-in-all, a very creative exhibition on contemporary metal that will have you humming siff melodies all day - simply brilliant with a hell of a message.
Since Patient Zero, Louis Henn has been replaced with Chris Hall on guitar and Marc Olwage replaced Wesley Robb on bass. Zombies ate my Girlfriend’s impressive live performances are always a spectacle to witness.
To the snakes, charlatans and general hate mongers, may you and your families rot in the eternal hell that you have created for yourselves!