Search - Vigilantes of Love :: Killing Floor

A powerful, haunting fusion...

11/23/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Intense

Joseph McCarthy | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States | 02/01/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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 - Produced by Peter Buck (REM), Mark Heard, &

Vic Peppler | Virginia | 01/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
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.

"