The terrifying burst of pure, righteous, gnarly, more-grunge-than-grunge distortion that kicks off “Zombie” is not expected by 16-year-old me in 1994, based on my prior knowledge of and affinity for the Cranberries. This jump-scare intro is designed, quite skillfully, as a Holy Shit moment. The Cranberries are through fuckin’ around. The Cranberries don’t give a shit if you get what you want no matter how many times you say please. The Cranberries would just as soon kill you as—ah, shit, I’m doing the badass thing again, aren’t I? Sorry.
