VAMP LE STAT- Bloodline review in Powermetal “.. 8.5/10 rating..stadium-suited glam at its finest!!..”
A nostalgic CD, and now it has enormously cult status. The pride of Sacramento, California native VAMP LE STAT gives fans a re-release of their legendary debut album “Blood Line” from 1993. At that time, equipped with only six songs, this underground classic is now 18 years old, and in terms of presentation and sound it is still quite impressive. But let us start with the actual songs…
It’s initiated by an atmospheric intro, roars the opener ‘Madame Blue’ in a very straightforward manner from the speakers. Armed with a catchy chorus, perched here above all the vocal power of a Jimmy Tuttle. Then ‘Swing Child’ fits perfectly into that 90-sound, sounding as good as SKID ROW, BON JOVI MÖTLEY CRÜE . Anthemic and dirty is ‘Bitch’ , a piece which was burning at that time just waiting to be thrown into the halls of the world. Cheesy and in the best Guns’n ROSES-style. Lighters are eventually elevated to ‘She’s Not In Love Anymore’, before the quartet begin with ‘Guns 4 Hire’ moving like an immense train, highlighted with a double bass rhythm.. A celebration for every hard-rocker. ‘Chain Around My Heart’ ends “Bloodline” again with a powerful chorus.
You can argue over the meaning and the nonsense of such re-releases. But the fact that XXX Records honored these underground heroes the opportunity to play again in the ears and hearts of glam rockers. At least for me, the Californians were successful with that endeavor, …the five additional bonus tracks on the re-release is a nice feature, . Anyway, great record, great songs and a sadly underrated band.
Playing tips: Madame Blue, Guns 4 Hire
Rating: 8.5 / 10 ( see also Keester, St. Elmo’s Fire, Rockhard, Jeff Jones)
