The Vampire Rodents - Lullaby Land [Review]

The Vampire Rodents were an experimental industrial rock group led by guitarist and singer Daniel Vahnke, with other members playing keyboards, strings and percussion. Lullaby Land was the group's third album, its direct predecessor, Premonition being a mere hint as to full scale of the greatness they could achieve. Superficially the album is just another semi-industrial collage piece, copying likes of Foetus and Nurse with Wound, but only as one digs deeper is it possible to experience the true profundity within. Though it is heavily influenced by other industrial artists, it possesses an emotional and technical expansion previously unseen in rock music. This is an epic work of rock music (both in content and length), and in my opinion deserves a review which provides an in depth look at each track.

The album opens with the tense and dramatic Trilobite, possibly the most linear (but also one of the best) tracks on the album. From the very first song, the consistent pounding rhythms found in every song are ever-present, the only real feature that holds each soundscape together. Following this jaw-dropping opening, a short duet of chaotic strings plays before a harsh drumline and melancholic vocals are introduced - Catacomb. This track lacks suspense entirely, its crescendos are sudden and unexpected; They are outbursts without warning, further adding to the nightmarish atmosphere. As soon as Catacomb has faded, the incessant drone of Crib Death comes forth, being followed by some of the most horrific (Galas-esque) singing I've ever heard. This however, is not the main feature which most would find unlistenable; Rather it is the constant disorientating rhythm changes, adding further to the evocative ever-changing atmosphere.

If at this point you're noticing that I'm making the music sound rather unappealing, it's probably not for you (not that I want to put people off), but if from what you've read you're intruiged or excited - this album is a masterpiece. For the Rodents, as it is for many Avant Garde bands, the timbre and ambience trumps over melodic genius (not that this album is without some great tunes...Well, I think so anyway). They are not just deconstructing rock music with this record, they are reconstructing it in their own twisted way.

Another brilliant feature of this album is the sheer diversity of genres found within, perfectly showcased by the next song, Dogchild. Imagine late 80s/early 90s Hip-hop blended with unhealthy amounts of noise, jazz samples and cynical lyrics that I'm sure Zappa would've been proud of. This provides the perfect antithesis for the following song Gargoyles, a metallic horror story backed by metal guitars, screaming vocals and classical samples. Grace is of a similar nature, and is probably the worst on the album (despite having the most humourous context of lyrics). That said, every song on here is worth its salt and none let the album down, its true profundity manifesting itself through being greater than the sum of its parts. Tremulous, a 55 second track which sounds like Reich's work on loops, provides the transition from Grace and Glow Worm, which has a depressing mantra combined with some harsh atonality. Lullaby Land continues this, descending further into a calm insanity, and featuring Rathausen/Vanhke's best vocal display - itself being an instrument which fits perfectly with the ethnic gamelan-like rhythm section.

The album's darkest section (I know what you're thinking, the stuff before sounded pretty dark - Not compared to this) are the six tracks running from Dervish to Nosedive. The former attacks the senses with a powerful rhythm combined with a piano melody. This, along with Rathausen's vocals is essentially the entire song, though it is important to point out that no amount of description will be able to do this music justice; there are so many samples and snippets of sound in every second that the music itself seems alive. This effect provides a very exciting aural experience, and repeat listens always rewards you with new levels of appreciation. After Dervish is Scavenger, one of the most relentlessly ruthless songs on the album, and in fact ever. It always reminds me of something biomechanical, a machine that is living and breathing, and this is just what the Rodents intend to do; They take us to another world with their album, the craftsmanship in doing so is where the talent lies, and is in my opinion more of a skill than composing catchy melodies (which I do hasten to admit is, when done consistently, a talent that is very rare). Exuviate plays like a constant crescendo that never quite reaches its climax, and when it does it is thrown away to calming synths, which smoothly flow into Akrotiri, one of the album's best. I cannot even attempt to describe this instrumental masterpiece in any kind of detail, though to give the reader some idea it consists of elements of spanish guitar, tribal flutes and baroque organs - not to mention the haunting violins, all of which combine to produce a masterpiece of the highest level. Toten Faschist is the most metal-like song on the album, with the heaviest guitar and drums, frantic shredding and occasional melodic sections give it that same variety that makes each track so strong. The darkness that has been so present in each song is fittingly ended with Nosedive, the simplest song on the album with a 4/4 beat, the repitious thudding never ceasing.

The most odd and also one of the most enjoyable tracks on the album, Bosch Erotique is a fit of giggles, renaissance/medieval melodies and sexual panting, definitely not anything like Hubba Hubba, which to me sounds like one of the more avant Kompakt releases, albeit it with some completely inappropriate (and perfect) samples placed here and there. Cartouche is an homage to the spanish guitar hinted to in Akrotiri, though taken to a much further extent. If other tracks on the album lacked suspense, the Hitchcockian marvel Awaken is the epitome of that trait, like a pin hoving above a balloon as it floats upwards. The sheer anticipation and the controlled ending give it a somewhat mixed message, though one which I respect, as it easily could've ended in a rather predictable loud bang. Another contender for the best track is the 6 minute Raga Rodentia, the perfect cross between the Third Ear Band and the Taj Mahal Travellers, with the Rodents' own blend of rhythmical delights of course. The album's finale is unlike the rest of the album entirely, it stands out as an ambient masterpiece, and is possibly the only cohesive whole within the context of the album.

So, concluding thoughts? Well, I myself believe this to be the most significant piece of music rock has to offer, a simultaneously ugly and beautiful album that involves and immerses the listener in a way very few albums can do. That said, it's not for everybody (and by that I mean most people), to appreciate it one must listen with both an open mind and open ears. One thing's for certain: After hearing this album all the way through for the first time, it won't be an experience you'll forget.