Review Summary: A Lich King album is like a hug from grandma. Nostalgic, sweet and when it holds on just a little too long it starts to get creepy. Thankfully World Gone Dead will leave you thrashed out and begging for more after just 45 minutes.
Somewhere on the west coast back in 1987, someone wrote a thrash metal hook that was so catchy and neck-snapping that it simply destroyed the entire planet. Thankfully that isn’t true, but Lich King comes damn close on their third release World Gone Dead. Not to take anything away from their previous releases but this one outshines them all. They managed to keep the tongue in cheek mannerisms while laying down some of the sickest thrash grooves of the past 15 years. Spaced out over 10 songs there are enough tempo changes and back beat hooks to satisfy even the most ravenous fan of the genre. The lyrics, as with all of the previous Lich King releases, are what make them a standout act. Albeit the album has a slightly (and I mean SLIGHTLY) less pubescent tone than Toxic Zombie Onslaught the lyrics are still something that most of the teenage and early twenty-something crowds will identify with. Behaver is a stand out track in this regards opening with:
Putting sprinkles on ice cream cones
Being polite when on the phone
Shoveling, walks for the elderly
Carving pumpkins for Halloween
If you are a fan of the bands previous work this should be all too familiar. The rest of the album is sprinkled with liberal amounts of great lyrics and head banging riffs. The production is leaps and bounds above their previous offerings (you can actually hear this one) and it will be great to see what the band does on their 4th release. I do have to point out one more song. A Storm of Swords is based off of the works by George R.R. Martin and is really well done, easily one of the best songs they have done.
The album rounds out great. Second to last is a cover of Aggressive Perfector. If you are going to cover some Slayer at least Lich King did it the right way (which is anything before South of Heaven). Finally we get to Lich King III. Not since the days of Overkill have we been treated to a series of songs that are A. named after the band, B. appear at the end of each album and C. kick major amounts of ass.
