STREAMING: Vampire “Under the Grudge”

With pseudonyms like Hand of Doom, Black String and Command, Sweden’s Vampire immediately evoke early ’80s heavy metal and early mid-’90s black metal. A non-coincidence, really. Vampire’s eponymous debut is the nexus of heavy metal and black metal, where Destruction and Motörhead meets Unanimated and Bewitched. Vampire, however, make the cross-generational/genre melange unique, menacing in march and venomous in voice.
Sure, the Uppsala crowd—Watain, Invidious, Degial, Graveless, Veternus, etc.—has had this tried/true, throwback aesthetic for a good long while, but Vampire embody similar values and with similar diehard energy and make them their own. Tough to say today’s crowded death space, especially considering Vampire were formed only three short years ago. That the group was ensconced in Svenska Grammofonstudion (The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, The Hives) to record their self-titled debut is merely an indication the Swedes take their sonic fingerprint seriously, and not the least bit of an indication they’re forsaking the rough sound of their 2012 demo.

Anyway, before we go under Vampire’s blade, the Swedes had this to say about the song, “Under the Grudge”: “‘Under the Grudge’ was written shortly after the formation of Vampire in the autumn of 2011 and ended up on the band’s self-titled demo. The high-paced, uptight riffing in ‘Under the Grudge’ reminds of the non-compromising black/thrash metal attitude of the early 1980s. Already at our first live performances we noticed that the song had turned out a Vampire anthem of some sorts. Early on we decided that it would be a perfect song to round up our debut album as well.”

Decibel presents… Vampire!

** Vampire’s debut album, Vampire, is out March 3rd on Century Media Records. Pre-Orders are available HERE. And, yes, Bela Lugosi is dead. Vampire celebrate his death!