To listen to most bands is to be briefly submerged into the scene they’re a part of. That’s not the case with Fearless Vampire Killers. No, this most willfully unconventional of rock bands have more ambitious plans in store. This five-piece cordially invite their listeners to Grandomina, the fictional world they chronicle in their music, providing what Rock Sound describes as: ‘an instant antidote to everything predictable and mundane,’ in the process.
Formed in Suffolk’s Waveney Valley (via Hemel Hempstead) in 2008, the band released the EPs In Grandomina (2010) and The Blood Never Dries (2011) before self-releasing their fulllength debut Militia of the Lost (2012), through their Goremount Records imprint. Militia Of The Lost received overwhelmingly positive reviews, including an 8/10 rating from Rock Sound and KKKK from Kerrang! labeling them: ‘The new band of our dreams,’ and shortlisting them in the Best British Newcomer category at the 2012 Kerrang! Awards.
Live peaks so far have included headlining a stage at Download Festival on only their second appearance (apologies to main stage headliners Slipknot for stealing their crowd!), the Kerrang! Tour 2013, alongside Tonight Alive, Chiodos and fellow make up botherers Black Veil Brides and the main-support slot on Aiden frontman WiL Francis’ solo project, William Control’s UK tour (of which more of him shortly!)
This year saw the release of Exposition: The Five Before The Flames, a five track ‘Literary Exposition Set To Music’, which served as a prequel to the events of Militia of the Lost. This not only gave the uninitiated the chance to familiarise themselves with Fearless Vampire Killers and acclimatise to the story of Grandomina, it also provided the band with an opportunity to hone their individual songwriting chops. Impressively, a different member of the band wrote each of Exposition’s five tracks. It was a creative gamble that paid off, with Kerrang! suggesting: ‘if ever there was a time to embrace Fearless Vampire Killers, it’s now.’
The last song on Exposition… ‘The Prince: Diamond Dust and Crimson Reign’ was the only track to take the narrative beyond Militia… teasing the exciting things that are to come. Those things include the band’s first US shows, supporting William Control on his ‘Revel Without A Cause’ tour and, of course, a second full-length album – produced by Mr. Control himself – and partly recorded in his native Seattle. Empowered by their increased songwriting confidence, the forthcoming, as yet untitled opus will detail the final days of Grandomina and is sure to be one of 2014's most eagerly anticipated rock releases.
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