Vladimirs

The Late Hours

Hells Headbangers 2011

The eighth album from these veteran horror punks is actually my first exposure to their brand of popped up terror rock.  And what do I think?  Pretty damn good.  A ton of Misfits influences and some others seep into the raucous mix for a potent dose of rockin' schlock.  The album opens on a high point and seldom lets off the gas.  Last Song For The Lost opens with a goth rock beginning and then swings away with muddy punk riffs and this catchy marriage of goth and punk infects your body.  The vocals bring to mind a brooding union of the Fields of Nephilim and Glenn Danzig.  Upping the ante is Zombie Eyed Youth which makes me think of Unknown Road era Pennywise but with Glenn Danzig singing.  The pace is relentless and the chorus easily nests in your brain.  The slightly off phrasing on Quiet Room sounds faintly like Jello Biafra in his Dead Kennedy's heyday!  More goth influences, especially the vocals, are evident on City Of The Living Dead.  However, the chorus is pure old school Misfits!  And the Misfits comparisons only grow on Synthetic Happiness, though there are some pop-punk accents on the music and the vocals are a tiny bit melodramatic.  A bouncy main riff on New Flesh has a certain metal feel to it.  The absolute pinnacle of the album is the sublime sorrow of Where To Run.  A poppy bass and some melodic guitars are accompanied by vocals that are tinged by jaded fright and forlorn gloom.  Despite it not being a "metal" album, Hells Headbangers hit a home run with the new Vladimirs album.  If you are a fan of horror punk and hate the cheese of bands like AFI then Vladimirs will set your ghoulish soul afire.