Customer Reviews

Vampire Themes

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Vampire Themes represents many wonderful artists. Taken individually the songs are mostly fair-good renditions and attempts. Listening to the album start to finish, however, is a headache experience. The low point for me was the version of Sympathy For The Devil; annoying and grating to the ear. The album isn't nesessarily that bad, but I think it had more promise than quality.

This is a puzzling but fairly good album that requires appreciation of a variety of musical styles. There is solid Gothic rock and eerie instrumentals of various types, even including some classical music.

The selections are all from vampire films (or TV shows) or inspired by them. None of these, tho, seem to be from the actual soundtracks. Even the Bauhaus classic "Bela Lugosi's Dead" is a live version not the studio version used (as I recall) in THE HUNGER. There is also a cover (by The Electric Hellfire Club) of the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" included because it was the closing music for INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. (But that film used a cover by Guns n' Roses so the selection here can, I guess, be considered a cover of a cover.) The music from FOREVER KNIGHT is here with LaCroix's chilling opening narrative ("He was brought across in 1228...") but IT'S NOT NIGEL BENNET SPEAKING! That last seems like heresy and is epecially disappointing but apparently the selections are meant as original tributes to the productions and soundtracks which inspired them- a sampling of new interpretations of music which the vampire legend has generated.

Still, there are many good selections. I suspect different people may like very different things here. I especially enjoyed Electric Hellfire's "Sympathy" (creepy treated vocal, driving rhythm and no "woo-oo woo"), The Damned's "Testify" and Nosferatu's "Graveyard Shift". Big Electric Cat's cover of "Cat People" was OK but didn't seem to add much new. (And technically CAT PEOPLE isn't a vampire movie, remember?) The instrumentals seemed very atmospheric but, for me, tended to blend together- lots of low strings, for example, and Tangerine Dream effects.

This CD is just so great, I can't say enough about it. I love all the various versions of these classic songs and of course, you just can't beat the original Bauhaus song. Two Witches do a great job on Dracula Rising and I tend to loop this song whenever it plays. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves gothic music and vampires.

Nice collection fit for vampyre or horror movie fans, the vampyre and eerie atmosphere is strong.

The older goth set may enjoy this one a lot more than the angst ridden teens. I found this CD a pure delight with enough of a variety for everyone and it still remains among my favorite in the genre.

finally, a vampyre music cd, just what I've been waiting for! This album features everything you want. The electric hellfire club put a great twist on the old rolling stones song. perfect album.

... but I've only listened to it a couple of times in the 4 months I've owned it.
It was the 3rd or 4th CD I got that has 'Bela Lugosi's Dead' on it (that starts to get pretty tedious after a while). And none of the other songs really appealed to me.
ah well.
you win some, you lose some.

this has to be the WORST goth comp I have ever heard. The only high point (other than bela lugosi's dead..the live version taht is on EVERYTHING even non goth compilaitons LOL)was the Electric hellfire Clubs sympathy for the devil...even with this i would not recommend buying this cd..its nothing but music with the occasional lyric, really dissapointing.