As we continue through the month of October, what better way to kick off the spooky season than by celebrating a haunting new album release? Living Dead Girl’s latest album, CONSPIRACY, is a captivating album that blends elements of many alternative genres together. While each track keeps its own unique style throughout, the band continues to stay true to their original sound.
Living Dead Girl, formed in 2021 by frontwoman Molly Rennick, introduced themselves to the scene with their debut album, Exorcism. That album did extremely well at drawing in audiences from all over the world, and preparing the band to have fans eagerly awaiting future releases.
The opening song and title track, "Conspiracy," starts off the record with a very ominous fade-in into a very industrial-sounding guitar riff. Rennick's powerful vocal fry is apparent as soon as the verses begin, this being a representation of how the rest of the album will come together musically. The sharp contrast between Rennick's clean and unclean vocals is made obvious once the chorus of "Poison Me" begins. Containing a very open chorus and quick transitions, the breakdown hits hard with a classic, nasty heavy-metal "blegh" kicking it off.
"We'll All Be Dead" is a standout track for me, instrumentally. The guitar in the chorus adds so much to the depth of not only the song, but it also allows for the lyrical imagery to be emphasized. "Ugly" is a fast-paced song with a lot packed into just over three and a half minutes, containing one of my favorite lines on the record, "Sometimes I wish I were ugly to you."
"Succubus," the last single for the album, dropped alongside a killer music video. The addition of a spooky spoken intro defining what a succubus is was a great move to tie in to this eerie and seductive song.
"The Disease" is a jolting track from start to finish. Playing in two-fourths time, with shocking drum beats throughout the song, there's no doubt this will hit even harder at a Living Dead Girl live show.
A song with a heavier metalcore influence, "Eighteen," seems to harbor a sentimental feeling of the past. "Brainwashed" follows with plenty of blast beats for any metalhead to enjoy. If you weren't hooked on the album already, anyone listening to this song will be won over once this song's nasty breakdown emerges.
As CONSPIRACY approaches its close, the last 3 songs on this album finish off strong. "Wild and Free" needs no introduction; like the title says, this song not only starts the party, it is the party. The autotuned vocal chops and pop drum beats are what separate this song from the rest. "Unstoppable" puts another pop twist in this heavier song as the chorus comes in, almost acting as a surprise since the lyrics don't give away the rest of the initially expected sound. Finally, "Survival Mode" ends this album beautifully, tying the themes of survival, sickness, love, and freedom together for good.
Living Dead Girl being only four years into their career is shocking; the cohesive effort on every release this group has done is apparent. After this release, one thing is clear: this group is here to not only solidify their place in metal, but also to rise far beyond anyone's expectations.
