theDEEPstate: “The Dead Are Rising” (release date September 3, 2021)

Ghoulish Grandeur

Soundtrack of our Times?

Although this terrifying, enthralling, dark soundtrack album (animated movie to arrive soon) is based on classic horror film “Night of the Living Dead”, it’s hard for me to ignore the real-time world-wide threat of flesh-eating disease facing humanity.

Parallels?

By the bunches, seems to me.

I Am Legend

Upon further investigation, I learned that writer/director/producer George A. Romero and co-writer John Russo, drew heavily upon Richard Matheson’s 1954 apocalyptic novel I Am Legend– and, wait for it…the plot of which focused on a plague ravaging Los Angeles…

theDEEPstate

This band is a project of talented musicians, video wizards, and film-fanatics (especially, it seems, of horror films): James Sedge – Drums and Percussion; Ralph Cardall – Electric Guitars, Acoustic Guitars, Bass, Taurus Pedals, Moog Synths, Mellotron, Keyboards, Dulcimer; and Phil Jolly – Graphics and Images.

They’ve been prolific, as I commented in my review of their previous album “Mysinformation Highway Pt.2” (see the review here: https://progressiverockfanatics.wordpress.com/2021/07/11/thedeepstate-mysinformation-highway-pt-2-something-grand-this-way-comes/), and on “The Dead Are Rising” the band continues to produce top-quality cinematic, progressive, story-telling music designed to FREAK YOU OUT.

Yeah, You Might Need This

Because.

The music within this forty-five-minutes-and-change album/soundtrack skillfully allows the grisly plot to unwind, with short clips directly from the original movie’s soundtrack telling the terrifying tale.

Oh no, there’s no rush. No, no need to hurry to FIND OUT WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN- and of course the listener is relaxed and calm, so…

Well, no again. The listener quickly gets caught up in the use of ominous dark synths, grand symphonic passages, thudding drums, nightmarish squalling guitars, heavy power chords- and those infernal ‘radio-broadcast’ clips, seemingly highlighting the flesh-eating creatures that once were human, and somehow re-animate.

How Does it All Work?

Do you like to be horrified? Then, you will love this. Turn out the lights, put on the headphones, and hold on to your seat. I recommend the track called DEEP Mix, which includes the whole, unbroken soundtrack.

And if you’re cowardly (yours truly), you may wish to listen to the individual tracks one by one.