Customer Reviews

Killing Floor

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This album was my introduction to the Vigilantes of Love, and to the songwriting of Bill Mallonee. Killing Floor immediately vaulted V.O.L. into my list of favorite bands. Bill M., is a poetic genius. His words get to the heart of the human condition. Fortunately he has always surrounded himself with talent musicians so the lyrics aren't lost in inanity. The 3rd, 4th, and 5th tracks of Killing Floor stand out as the strongest trio of songs I've heard anywhere, musically as well as lyrically.

At a time when most artists were attemting to combine punk with noise pop, a la Nirvana, Vigilantes of Love took a different approach. On this remarkable album, the band injects the fiery energy of punk into echoes of lost southern folk music, not unlike producer Mark Heard's Dry Bones Dance before it, and the resulting concoction is frightening and beautiful. Lyrically, these songs hang their toes over the edge of depression and despair, but a perfect moment of grace and redemption always keeps the album from plunging over. Sick of It All, Motel Room, and Keep Out the Chill perfectly capture the hopelessness most people feel at some point during life (and some of us feel much more often), while the best songs here, including Earth Has No Sorrow and River of Love, shine with a unexpected grace and hope. The darkness layered throughout this disc does not make for an easy listen, but the occasionally dazzling shafts of light pull the listener through. The Vigilantes have yet to top this superior work of art, as furiously haunted as it is, but then, so have most bands. Buy now, and enjoy one of the best over-looked albums of the decade.

This album has a strong beat. Bill Mallonee and Travis McNabb do an excellent job on drums. Killing floor was released in 1992 when the Vigilantes Of Love consisted of two members: Billy Holmes and Bill Mallonee. They play many of the instruments on this cd. Holmes was also a member during the first two records: "Jugular," and "Driving The Nails." (Mallonee lost the rights to Driving The Nails through some legalities involving Core records; the label it was released on.) Billy Holmes left the band after Killing Floor and didn't reappear until almost a decade later. (at one point in the interval he was a record producer of Death Metal bands.)

The playing on Killing Floor is fueled with so much energy that reviews of Vigilantes shows would label them as manic pop. And that has nothing to due with the speed of the songs, but more to the excited tension of the music. Mallonee unexpectly dropping to the floor on one knee and bouncing back up during a guitar riff only adds to the impression, as does the sudden slamming of his closed palm against his head in the midst of passionately sung, tense lyrics. There seems to be a nervous strain lurking behind even the slower songs.

Undoubtedly it's the music that gets your attention, but once pulled in, the lyrics take center stage. There's a psychological darkness to them that indicates an internal struggle. Mallonee's (he writes all the songs) choice of words are intellectually clever but down home enough to feel comfortable with. In fact, the silent war inside his head is portrayed in his songs using phrases and lines that we can all relate to.

"Real Downtown" is the song that got the most airplay, but other tunes not to be missed are: "Anybody's Guess," "Strike While The Iron Is Hot," "I Can't Remember," and "Sick Of It All." These songs alone, should have made this album a hit. But as Bill's 14 year musical career proves, talent can go unnoticed by the masses. As a struggling artist, he has learned that when it comes to corprate rock, it's not about "talent," it's about the bottom line - money. No matter how talented you are, if the big companys don't invest in you, then you'll be stuck in some dark corner of the market they cornered.

KILLING FLOOR was released in '92 and I stumbled upon it and
was hooked. RIVER OF LOVE, ELEANOR, I CAN'T REMEMBER, EARTH
HAS NO SORROW, REAL DOWN TOWN, and SICK OF IT ALL are just
some of the great highlights. ANDERSONVILLE is incredible
and Bill Mallonee's best overlooked song (IMHO).

VOL have heart and soul and can play it folky or rock out
with the best of 'em. KILLING FLOOR is one of my favorites.

There are a number of superb virtual unknowns in the music world and Bill Mallonee is one the best. Killing Floor was his first major album and many believe it to be his best. While it might be best termed "acoustic roots rock", no genre accurately defines the sound or the subject matter. Bill's lyrics range from personal, tragic perspectives of historic people and events to deeply spiritual rousings. While it can be argued whether or not Killing Floor is his finest album, few will deny that it contains material from the pinnacle of his signature songwriting style. Bill excels at not only great lyrical content, but truly original melodies with pop appeal that wasn't and will never be awarded the attention it deserves. If you are already a Vigilante fan, this album is an absolute must. If you aren't a fan, you might instead try "Blister Soul" as it his most accessible rock/pop album (still cuts to the chase, though). However, if you think you can handle the emotion and loss of Killing Floor, please feel free to jump on board. There's a lot to discover on this floor.

That's from the song "Sick Of It All". Bill Malonee is a great writer. I saw them perform several times in Athens, Georgia. Bill would get up on stage 1/2 hour before the band, just so he could try out new songs. This is intelligent lyrics with passion and feeling. How many great songs have been written for a first lady? Even though the line up for VOL has changed over the years, their engine remains Bill. Another great lyric that demands individual intrepretation..."Earth has no sorrow, Heaven can't heal". Words. In the right combination, they can both enlighten or burn, the soul.

Killing Floor is VOL at it's best. Bill Maloney delivers a strong performance and Peter Buck produces with magnificance.

If you are looking at buying this as your first contact with VOL I highly recomend it. In these later days VOL has gone to a harder electric sound which is good too but not as strong as their early albums like this one.

The best track on the album and possibly one of the best VOL songs ever is Elenor, a sad moving tribute to America's finest first lady, Elenor Roosevelt. Trust me, you will ove it. Finger Print Records, thank you!

Killing Floor is the last--and unquestionably the best--of VOL's early, psycho-folk period. The album is largely performed by only Bill Mallonee and Billy Holmes, but it feels like the most full of all of the band's albums. Holmes flavors the songs with mandolin, slide guitar, and even a trumpet, while Mallonee's lyrics are at once their most vitriol and go-for-the-jugular ("I could rape you with a single look / Kill you with a glance"), while at the same time their most fragile and personal ("Can you come and pick up another skeleton man? / I been cuttin' my wrists for a little sickness within"), often in the same song (these quotes are both from "Motel Room").

The Vigilantes have reached these heights again, but never in the context of folk music. Killing Floor is the album that Jugular and Driving the Nails attempted to be, and if you're interested in early VOL, is the album to turn to.

ON KILLING FLOOR, the Vigilantes of Love were Bill Mallonee and Billy Holmes,
and it was those two played most of the instruments on the tracks and did the production. Travis McNabb had not yet joined the band, but did play drums on some of the tracks. Newt and David only appear on bonus tracks that appear on SOME editions of this disc. thanks

I own about 1,000 rock CDs. This one is in my top 10 of all time. Mallonee's lyrics and heart-wrenching singing are enough to make this a classic. Add in the gorgeous music and you have a MASTERPIECE. That's what this album is. I'll be honest with you. This is a Masterpiece. You won't be able to stop listening to it.