Dead Vampires - A Day After Halloween

Artist: Dead Vampires

Album: The Day After Halloween

Label: Robot Monster

Over the course of a year or two, Robot Monster records sprung up and signed a handful of the most consistent underground horror punk bands around.  From up and coming horror greats The Epidemic to the firmly established American Werewolves, Robot Monster is fast becoming a name for quality in the horror punk community.  Their latest signing, Seattle's Dead Vampires, fits naturally in their growing catalogue.  Back in 2007 the band released a rather unremarkable debut, We Are the Dead Vampires.  While the strong bass and interesting use of electronic sounds showed promise, they were clearly still finding their sound.  But with their Robot Monster debut, The Day After Halloween, the Dead Vampires have unearthed a winning formula.

While horror punk binds each song together, The Day After Halloween finds the band also drawing upon cleanly executed garage rock for new inspiration.  Vocalist, "DOC," uses a strong, throaty projection immediately comparable to Son of Sam's Ian Thorne.  DOC's voice varies between songs, and he tactfully lets his band's 50's horror inspiration seep into his vocal delivery.  For example, in "Dead End Drive-In" and "Dead and Blue" DOC uses a distinct rockabilly croon commonly found in psychobilly acts.  The effect feels natural because of the faint rockabilly rhythms permeating each track.  In many ways Dead Vampires are not particularly original, but like I've said many times, innovation in horror punk does not necessarily determine quality.  Every band can't invent horror punk like The Misfits.  Rather, a band's ability to harness and balance horror themes with a sound musical foundation seems like a fairer benchmark.  On these accounts Dead Vampires meet and exceed expectations.  One way the band captures this essence is through the addition of a synthesizer and theremin.  The effect makes the band comparable to California's Order Of The Fly since both instruments help maintain an erie album continuity.

Lyrically the band fits in with their peers, with vampires, zombies, and blood defining every track.  But Dead Vampires have a welcome lyrical playfulness that separate them from the pack.  For example, in "Coffin Rocket," a song about hitting the road after dark, DOC sings "I feel a change, I feel it deep inside my veins/I'll turn my blood to gas, bring it out in flames."  And in "Abra Cadaver" he humorously sings about Armageddon from a child's perspective: "Oh daddy, I'm going batty, there's a dead man in the windowsill/oh mommy, I'm getting crabby, don't you have some kind of pill?"  So while the content remains familiar, smart, subtle quirks produce memorable songs and lively content.

With The Day After Halloween, Dead Vampires have proven themselves more than capable of creating well balanced horror punk.  Through their quick wit and a little help from a moody synthesizer, Dead Vampires have set a high bar for horror punk in 2009.