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Vampire - Vampire

Published March 03 2014


*
=Staff's pick

Orexis
Howl From The Coffin*
At Midnight I'll Possess Your Corpse
Ungodly Warlock*
The Bestial Abyss
Black Deserts
Jaws Of The Unknown
The Fen*
Cellar Grave Vampire
Under The Grudge


Genre Thrash/Death Metal
Hand of Doom
Vocals
Tracks 10
Black String
Guitar
Running time 37 Min.
-
Guitar
Label Century Media
Command
Bass
Release 03 March 2014
Ratwing
Drums
Country Sweden
-
Keyboard
Producer ---
Similar artists Repugnant, Tribulation

The endless sea of retro death metal is vast and harsh. Most bands will sink and leave little impact, a few manage to stay afloat and even fewer manage to rise and truly leave their mark on a nowadays rather saturated scene. Vampire's 2012 demo caused quite some stir in the underground amongst retro death enthusiasts slowly building up a hype telling that Vampire was destined to belong to those who rise from the sea.

On their self-titled debut full-length Vampire treats us with a solid slab of music bordering to 'Bonded by Blood'-styled primitive thrash and 80's death metal in the veins of 'Scream Bloody Gore'. Imagine Repugnant's and Tribulation's debut full-length with the occasional Autopsy-styled horror riff and you're on the right track. It is simple and primitive with straightforward catchy riffs and songs.

Most songs follow the same pattern beginning and ending in crushing up-tempo and only slow down somewhat in the middle. 'Vampire' is sparse on technical extravaganza, but the band sure knows how to mangle the listener completely. If you have the slightest interest in 80's death metal you will recognize it all; the thrash-infused riffing style, the song structures, the charmingly juvenile horror song titles, the thrashy drumming and the Repugnant/early Death-styled hoarse growls. In short, the Gothenburg outfit has studied the masters well and done their homework with honours.

So, does 'Vampire' manage to rise from the eternal sea? Frankly, no. To truly rise from the sea, any aspiring retro death band needs to capture that essence of pioneering, that x factor found on the early works of bands like Death, Autopsy and Nihilist, or compose songs that are simple, yet still catches the listener off guard creating an exciting feeling of exploration despite actually having heard the bulk of it before. Unlike the debut full-lengths of, for instance, Repugnant, Tribulation and Necrowretch, 'Vampire' succeeds in neither.

It is a competent album and but feels almost calculated and is too stereotypical and predictable treating the listener with few surprises. Only 'Ungodly Warlord', 'Jaws of the Unknown' and 'The Fen' break the monotony with irregular song structures or tempo shifts and feel composed of really thoughtful ideas. 3 out of 10 songs are too few though and halfway through the album I find myself glancing at 'Epitome of Darkness' instead.

Apart from being done too much by the book, this album never captures that underlying eerie feeling of something sinister lurking in the shadows. I believe the band was heading in this direction when writing the material for 'Vampire' given the lyrics, the cover art and the occasional Autopsy riff or eerie leads, but it just doesn't get there. The production is partly to blame for this. It is decent and gives enough room for all instruments, but at the same time it feels somewhat sterile and a bit too digital.

Despite these complaints it should however again be noted that 'Vampire' is filled with catchy riffs and generally well executed. In a live setting this material might really come to place and if any of the songs were played at a party I would headbang my neck into oblivion. When listening to 'Vampire' as a full-length though, monotony and lack of standout songwriting hampers the experience. With their debut, Vampire stays afloat but does not rise from the sea.

See also review of: With Primeval Force

Performance
Originality
Production
Vocals
Songwriting

7

3

5

7

6

 
Summary



6 chalices of 10 - Tengan


Related links:

www.vampireofficial.com
www.facebook.com/vampiretheband