Marilyn Manson meets Rob Zombie produced by two guys from Spineshank? If that sounds like a marriage made in shock rock heaven to you, then Vampires Everywhere!’s latest Hellbound And Heartless is definitely for you. On the band’s follow-up to debut Kiss The Sun Goodbye, Vampires Everywhere! expand their goth meets glam meets industrial rock sound even further.
With ear-piercing screams from Michael Vampire, “I Can’t Breathe” begins and listeners are plunged into one of the most macabre rock albums of the year. “Drug Of Choice” echoes Manson’s “Irresponsible Hate Anthem” especially with Vampire’s vocal cadence at times. “Star of 666” is pure badass anthemic rawk complete with a blistering solo to finish things off and “Kiss Of Death” has a little “The Beautiful People” tribalness to it but probably has more in common with Murderdolls than the God Of Fuck.
The ghouls come out to play on the electro romp “Beauty Queen” and similarly on “Plastic” which quickly becomes a sonic rager. If you’re craving straight up metal, then songs like “Social Suicide” and “Hell On Earth” have your fix while the cover of Nirvana’s “Rape Me” could potentially be the next “Sweet Dreams”.
The most surprising thing about Hellbound And Heartless is not the content but the two guys sitting in the Producer’s chair, namely Mike Sarkisyan and Tommy Decker whom one might respectively know as the guitarist and drummer of (VE! label mates) Spineshank. Under the Cyanide Productions moniker, Sarkisyan and Decker polish up the Vampires Everywhere! sound and align them with former touring mates Orgy than former mentors Fear Factory. It’s an odd pairing but the end result is satisfying.
Vampires Everywhere! is not going to change the world of music but while they’re here and performing, they’ll make sure it’s a damn fun world to live in. Catch the fun all this summer as they take the stage on the 2012 Vans Warped Tour.
Hellbound And Heartless is out now through Hollywood Waste/Century Media.
Grade: B