Published on Nov 5, 1998
Find those cobwebs, fake blood and costumes because Halloween
ain’t over until you get a little Vladimirs under your skin.
Hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio, this quartet of blood suckers clock
in with 65 minutes of spine-tingling vampire imagery.
From the first couple of measures of this disc, Glenn Danzig’s
voice comes to mind. If you like the way he holds his words,
Marquis Thomas is up your alley with his “vokills.” The rest of the
band relies on the manic guitar punk sound from Brian Day and the
pounding of “coffin-beater” Ash Thomas. Sorry, bassist Doug Nevels,
I can’t hear you.
What I can hear is tight musicianship. I’d point to the fourth
track “Can’t Come Around Here No More” as the strongest track. I
especially like the “before this song goes down, I’d better leave
this town.” Thomas repeats it a couple of times, setting it up as
the last lines of the song. I can imagine them slowing the song
down before singing those lyrics and jumping back into another
verse or another guitar solo.
The titles of the songs such as opener “Sheila Is A Vampire,”
“Bloodsuckers,” and “Transylvania Dream” lend themselves to the
vampire theme. If you’re not into that dark imagery, this is not
your disc.
But if you’re into solid high-energy punk with a definite
Danzig/Misfits influence, this is your cup of java.
After a long pause, there are a lot of sound clips thrown
together. The pause after track 15 and the hidden track is long so
use your fast forward button.
Contact the band at:
The Vladimirs
1553 Adams Rd
Cincinnati, OH 45231