There has been much talk of noisy rock and stoner / grunge tinged guitar records this year, as many rock radio stations are flooded with the sounds of young bands thrashing at their guitars and drums and festival bills are packed with the likes of bands like ROYAL BLOOD, but they have no idea there are numerous underrated alternatives that have managed to shape the unorthodox and resultantly refreshing sounds of gritty rock music. Austion, Texas based drum & bass noise rock trio VAMPYRE is currently one of the most perspective acts on the scene and their spectrum of sounds embraces so many different elements and touches that it’s really hard to figure out there’s no guitar in their fuzzy and grainy sound. We have teamed up with the band to give yoou the first listen of their new record “Hot Ears”, an uncompromising, yet oddly accessible trip pushing at the parameters of boundless freedom. Listen below and scroll down to read the official description of the record.
Photo by Hang Ngo. Recording by mixing by Ian Rundell. Mastering and additional mixing by Evan Kleinecke.
Continued below…
Fire. Brimstone. Pushed to the edge. Sermons delivered from a pulpit commandeered by the very dark forces about which you were warned during Sunday service, thy name is Vampyre.
A chainsaw of bass, percussion and prose delivered through a poltergeist-ridden television set, the self-released debut ‘Hot Ears’ pulls you through the other side of the television screen and into a universe riddled with dissonance and doom.
Remove sharp objects from your pockets now. Spinal massage, head-banging and verbal RPGs ahead.
Previously the house band for Alistair Crowley, H.P. Lovecraft and wherever tarot cards are read well, the Austin power of three pays no head to your flimsy Illuminati conspiracy theories -I’m looking at you Taylor- commanding a presence well beyond the sum of their parts.
And like any good wormhole that rips travelers into a new dimension, there is velocity and complexity, woven into a dark bewitched organism still exploring the full extent of its sorcery, speaking with one vocal, yet singing with many voices.
Ripped back from the edge in the nick of time, the fury of the songs give way to a new melody, a new annihilating vocal avalanche, cracking the sky like a pane of glass.
Photo by Will Branch.
Underpinned by a bass line more beast-speaking-in-tongues than conventional mannerisms, the bent notes, harmonics and crashing percussion Vampyre is a near-death thrill ride through a carnival full of safety hazards.
Exsanguination is not for the weak of heart. Vampyre’s dark universe of dissonance, doom and hooks leaves listeners drained and buoyed by the furious storm at their command.
-Paul Stinson
VAMPYRE in on tour with Comic Genius JT Kelley starting September 28th:
9/28-Austin @Beerland
9/29-Omaha @Brothers lounge
9/30-Minneapolis @Howling Mine
10/1-Madison @Wisco
10/2-Chicago@The Burlington
10/4-St Louis @The Sinkhole
10/5- Kansas City @The Riot Room
