Welcome to the meandering musical insights of Aaron Joy (me!), formerly known as the Roman Midnight Music Blog. Here you'll find nearly 750 reviews of CDs & DVDs of rock & metal in all its variations, mainstream & indie, good & bad, U.S. & foreign. A new review every Monday.

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August 28, 2012

Vulture Kult ~ Don't Let Rock'N'Roll Ruin Your Life (album review) ... Don't let this album pass you by!



Style: punk, hard rock, alt rock
Label: n/a
Year: 2012
Home: Saskatoon, Canada

Members: Hans Bielefeld ~ guitars/vocals
Bradley Friesen ~ drums/vocals
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

First, I love the name of the album! There's just so many ways to interpret it, from the typical party lifestyle, to creative burn out, to the fan level in my own experience where I see arguments happen over bands & favorite music & whose the greatest. Second, I have to say that VK isn't going to ruin your life. They're not examples of their warning! I say that in jest, but I've come across many bands that the music churns your stomach & you can't wait for the album to end. VK is vibrant, heavy & dark, with a punk-esque churning guitar, some minimal lead overdubs & straight ahead rock drummer. Vocals, seemingly low in the mix but to good effect, recall something more akin to the bluesy psyched-out era of Blue Oyster Cult or Blue Cheer. There's without a doubt an out of time aspect to VK that I haven't heard in awhile. They've got a moody Black Sabbath plod underneath their guitar rhythms, like Geezer Butler's fast yet sounding mysteriously slow 16th note bass playing. Actually, I've been listening to the album repeatedly today as I can't put it down. It's an interesting band. At first I thought of Big Elf for comparison, but they sound nothing alike, yet the same out of time drugged out 1960's/70's moody feeling is here. Actually, taking a break to something else to rest my ears I suddenly went back to the album with the thought of the New York Dolls & imitators Hanoi Rocks. But, in comparison neither are a really a good match. I even thought I heard the Rolling Stones in one song (i.e. "Avenue H"). That's how odd yet interesting this band is. They sound so familiar but I'm at a loss how or who, in order to properly give a point of comparison or to lead you from who you the listener know to who you don't. With some band you immediately hear a similarity & that's it, you know what you've got. For example, Yngwie's keyboardist Nick Marino sings just like Graham Bonnett of Rainbow on his solo album. Listening to him again & again I never change my mind. But, with KV I'm now completely off wanting to call their playing punk. While the guitars may at first sound like punk playing there's so much more about their feel that I get on later listens that I don't even want to use the word punk as it now feels derogatory. Perhaps in a few minutes I'll be wanting to compare them to other guitar/drums outfits like the Black Keys, but I'd prefer not. That jump is much too large. What makes it all the more of an interesting & out of time release is the final two songs, a total of three minutes between them, which both are a coda to the album where the distortion is gone & the echo slightly tweaked up. "Movie Of Me" goes for a brushed country drum beat & Hammond B-3 organ playing. While "Checking Out" is an instrumental folksy flavor. When I used to work in a record store that specialized in 60's/70's albums this would have fit in perfectly. For fans of classic underground rock this is a new generation interpreting things. Highly recommended for the listener with a historical bent. Definitely an album I'm going to be returning to in my desire to figure it out, if I can. & I'd love to hear their first album to see where they've come from & where they might be going.

1 comment:

  1. What makes it all the more of an interesting & out of time release is the final two songs, a total of three minutes between them, which both are a coda to the album where the distortion is gone & the echo slightly tweaked up.
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