If there is one thing that metal heads really seem to love it’s nostalgia; a reason for many fans to look back with rose tinted glasses at music from decades gone by with an unwavering belief that the past was the golden era as they moan about current music not being “as good as it was in the day”. Luckily for them there are new bands like Vampire who can let them indulge in such times without sounding like a dated rehash.
Vampire’s self-titled debut (Century Media) sits firmly in the camp with the early death metal acts, that area of rabid, punk tinged thrash with a dose of real menace, but does so with black metals haunting atmosphere. Even down to its analogue recording this album is current only by release date, seeped in death metal’s vintage years right to its very core. Not that Vampire are seeking to reinvent the wheel by any stretch, what they are doing however is making an album that has hooks as sharp as the stake and riffs as immoveable to your mind as the scent of garlic to the air. The production is purposefully raw, but still crisp and modern sounding and really escalates the evil, black metal tone with a primal ferociousness which makes this close to the product of a wrestling match between Celtic Frost and Watain.
Like the typical vampire image we all have in our heads (think Christopher Lee Hammer Horror Dracula), these Swedes’ debut album is of decades gone by, is recognisable to most and even a little cartoonish in its nature. It is still dark and brooding and most importantly does not age. Like the aforementioned film, there are plenty more advanced versions of what they do, but very few of which are as damn fun as this.
8/10
CHRIS TIPPELL