VAMP LE STAT – Filth

The glorious times of classic Glam Metal, L.A style was in the dawn of the 80’s and the early and mid-years of the 90’s. Vamp Le Stat are one of those bands but they are not from the Sunset Strip scene like most of the successful Glam bands. Vamp Le Stat made their Glam, since they started recording their first two albums, heavier and rough than most of the others that infused their style of playing with Hard Rock or AOR elements.

Vamp Le Stat was formed in 1991 in Sacramento. The origin of their name was , in fact, a given name by their close friends, “Vampires Of Sacramento”. In 1993 they released their first EP/LP, Bloodline, which turned out to be a success as a new thing in Hard Rock and Glam Metal and introduced something special in the lines of Glam music. Their second album Filth, which was released in 1995, will get a major exclusive here.

Filth shows some heavy duty production of creating a sound which is very similar to Skid Row, XYZ and in a weird way, a heavier and dirty version of Mötley Crüe. The great sound contains heavy guitars that create a sort of sleaziness with a rough sound. In some points of the album the guitars are as dirtier as Thrash Metal. In addition there are raspy vocals along with touches of sexiness that is well known to be found in Glam bands, especially the Sleaze Glam oriented bands. Also there is powerful drumming and clean, yet strong, bass lines.

The band’s material is pretty well known as a Glam Metal formula of lyrics. Discussing issues like music, girls, relationships, wildlife along with a small dose of social issues.
When listening to the music, one can find out that the music is similar to other bands, when discussing themes, catchy choruses and song structures. But Vamp are doing it heavier and louder than many others like them. Songs like “Left For Dead”, “B.B.A” (Bitter Bastards Of America) ,”Destitute” and the closer, “The Last Laugh” are great examples of a band that kicks ass with some major heavy riffs.

Two things are troubling in this release. First there are the solos. Generally, they are great and powerful with a high skill. But there are many motifs that repeat themselves. Take for example the solos of “Dark Side Of Love” and “It’s All You” – parts of these solos are almost identical. But still if one likes this sort of pattern, they will surely have a good time listening to them. Second thing that is a bit bothersome is the song “It’s All You”. The song is great, no doubt about it, but the main verse sounds like a rip off riff from Metallica’s 1986 “Sanitarium”. Even the melody of the vocals sounds the same. A good thing is that most parts of the songs are original and of course, heavy as hell.

All around, the synergy of this lineup is the closest thing to perfect in this release and creates a well tuned harmony on all the songs. But among this lineup there are characters that deserve an exclusive. The vocalist, Jimmy Tuttle, a well talented singer with a rough and raspier voice, but has the same sexy touches as the tough version of Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe. Good examples of his great ability are tracks like: “The Last Laugh”, “B.B.A” and “Left For Dead”. In addition Jimmy also takes part as a guitarist, presenting great ability with those cracking heavy riffs and solos (if he even performed them). Mark Miner, the lead guitarist, that joined the group after the Bloodline album, demonstrates great heavy riffs along with some amazing solo lines.

When trying to find the best tracks, one can stumble and fall. This album rocks and, like the song, is a kick in the teeth. However, some gems of this release should be mentioned. “Dark Side Of Love” , the opener after the funny intro, kicks in with Mötley Crüe influenced song of the 80’s – “Rock on do the dark side of love baby!!”. “Worthless” is another 80’s song with heavy guitars with tunes that resembles the L.A scene. “Dirty Harry” , is a song in the vein of the Wild West about the famous gunslinger. This track brings some great riffs along with various phaser effects and a catchy chorus – “You won’t take me alive…”.”Left For Dead”, “Destitute” and the rest of the album starts off the most heavy part of the album. “Left For Dead” has a mid tempo rhythm and a hell of a chorus. “Destitute” is a hard slow hitter, “B.B.A” is a heavy L.A song. “It’s All You” , although it has ripped off parts, still delivers a slow Thrashy heavy riff. The closer , “The Last Laugh” has two parts , one is head banger and the other is a beautiful ballad.

Vamp Le Stat are still alive today and a year ago they released their comeback album, So Far. Although the album is way different than their earlier 90’s releases, the band should be remembered with the big boys of the Glam scene. The band’s style in the 90’s gave a good indication of the heaviness of Glam Metal in the 21^st century, like for example, the Swedish Glam scene.

Bands like Vamp Le Stat and Skid Row are two of the forefathers of the heavy and dirty Glam movement since the year 2000.