Premonition (Vampire Rodents album)

Premonition is the second studio album by Vampire Rodents, released on May 19, 1992 by V.R. Productions. The album represented a musical shift for the band with the introduction of string instruments and further influence of classical music in the compositions.[1][2] The album contains the most writing credits for composer Victor Wulf, who composed the music for five out of its twenty-one tracks.[3]

Premonition
Studio album by Vampire Rodents
Released	May 19, 1992
Recorded	1991 – September 10, 1991
Genre	Industrial experimental rock
Length	70:22
Label	V.R.
Vampire Rodents chronology
War Music (1990) Premonition (1992) Lullaby Land (1993)

Music

The album features a heavy use of sound samples in many songs, which was a very prevalent trend in industrial music at the time. Samples used includes assorted Looney Tunes voice clips, dialogue from the horror film The Exorcist as well as narration from H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds.[4][5] The album is roughly half compositions containing vocals and half not. It was at this point in Vampire Rodents existence that Daniel Vahnke expressed that the vocals were the weakest part of their compositions and that he desired the contributions of more vocalists.[6]

The drum loop on "Babelchop" is taken from "Music to Save the World By", the 1981 synth-pop track by Alan Burnham. The second track, "Babyface", is a reimagining of Little Richard's song of the same name with altered lyrics.

Release

Premonition was originally produced in truncated form on cassette with a runtime of approximately thirty minutes. The album was self-released by V.R. Productions and mailed from Daniel Vahnke for a limited time. The CD gathered the band enough attention for them to be noticed by and signed to Re-Constriction Records.[7] The album's coda, "Colonies", later appeared on Victor Wulf's debut solo album Cyclos, which was released under the name Dilate.[8][9]

After Vampire Rodents disbanded plans were made to re-issue the album packaged with their studio debut War Music and an expanded track listing, including the unreleased songs "Lizardman", "Blind Acceleration", "Smartass", "Harelip", and "Annexation II". Premonition was instead released on Bandcamp in 2019 with "Lizardman", originally released on the Masked Beauty in a Sea of Sadness various artists compilation, and alternate mastered versions of the songs "Babyface" and "Burial at Sea".

Reception

The music magazine Industrialnation praised the dark atmosphere of Premonition and said "Vampire Rodents sound like the soundtrack to Clive Barker's most unimaginable sadomasochistic Cenobite."[10] The magazine went on to praise the compositions' use of cartoon samples, noting "Ovulation" as an example, and the vocal delivery of the lyrics.[11] Technology Works also commended the band's use of samples, especially Bugs Bunny, and described the album as a "well-produced, abrasive-yet-accessible audio nightmare."[12] For Crying Out Loud called the album a "an unearthly awe-inspiring series of tunes" and a "true conjuring of industrial with elements of classical along with other unique brands of style."[13] Option pointed to the "jittery collage-styled music" as being the praise-worthy aspect of the album."[14] The magazine Skin Trade moderately criticized Vampire Rodent's over-depended on sampling and indicated that compositions like "Annexation" better utilize their talents.[15]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Daniel Vahnke, except "Babyface" by Benny Davis and "Sitio" by Victor Wulf; all music is composed by Daniel Vahnke, except where noted.

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Babelchop"		4:37
2.	"Babyface" (Jan Garber cover)	Harry Akst	2:37
3.	"Monkeypump"		1:49
4.	"Recoil"	Victor Wulf	3:59
5.	"Ovulation"		2:46
6.	"Subspecies"		2:28
7.	"Burial at Sea"		4:24
8.	"Vulvasaurus"		1:17
9.	"Annexation"	Wulf	3:37
10.	"Tenochtitlan"		1:39
11.	"Dresden"		4:50
12.	"Sitio"	Wulf	4:01
13.	"Deicide"		3:50
14.	"Infection"		2:35
15.	"Rodentia Ostinati I & III"		2:05
16.	"Dante's Shroud"		2:18
17.	"Waterhead"		3:40
18.	"Demon est Deus inversus"		2:17
19.	"Book of Job"	Wulf	4:36
20.	"Apparition"		2:37
21.	"Colonies"	Wulf	8:23

2019 digital re-issue

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Apparition"		2:37
2.	"Colonies"	Victor Wulf	8:23
3.	"Book of Job"	Wulf	4:35
4.	"Demon est Deus inversus"		2:16
5.	"Dante's Shroud"		2:17
6.	"Waterhead"		3:39
7.	"Rodentia Ostinati I & III"		2:04
8.	"Infection"		2:34
9.	"Deicide"		3:50
10.	"Sitio"	Wulf	4:00
11.	"Dresden"		4:49
12.	"Annexation"	Wulf	3:37
13.	"Tenochtitlan"		1:38
14.	"Vulvasaurus"		1:16
15.	"Burial at Sea"		4:24
16.	"Subspecies"		2:27
17.	"Ovulation"		2:45
18.	"Recoil"	Wulf	3:58
19.	"Monkeypump"		1:48
20.	"Baby Face" (Jan Garber cover)	Harry Akst	2:35
21.	"Babelchop"		4:45
22.	"Lizardman"	Vahnke Wulf	4:51
23.	"Rodentia Ostinati II & IV"		2:18
24.	"Babyface" (Jan Garber cover; Alternate Master)	Akst	2:32
25.	"Burial at Sea" (Alternate Master)		4:26

Personnel

Adapted from the Premonition liner notes.[3]

Vampire Rodents

• Daniel Vahnke (as Anton Rathausen) – guitar, bass guitar, sampler, keyboards, orchestration, vocals (5, 8, 9, 11, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21)
• Victor Wulf – keyboards, vocals (12)

Additional musicians

• Andrea Akastia – cello, violin
• Mark Edwards – vocals (19)
• Jing Laoshu – percussion

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
United States	1991	V.R.	CS	VR4
	1992		CD

References

1. Mahan, Michael (May 1994). "Michael Mahan's Biography of Vampire Rodents". Alternative Press (70): 89. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
2. Christie, Dixon (1996). "Permission Interview". 2000AD Online: 6. Archived from the original on May 29, 2000. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
3. Premonition (booklet). Vampire Rodents. Phoenix, Arizona: V.R. Productions. 1992.CS1 maint: others (link)
4. Baby Had an Accident (booklet). Blink Twice/The MAS. Alientown, Pennsylvania: GPC Productions. 1993.CS1 maint: others (link)
5. Repossessed/Non-Aggression Pact (booklet). Xorcist/Non-Aggression Pact. Alientown, Pennsylvania: GPC Productions. 1992.CS1 maint: others (link)
6. "Vampire Rodents Interview". Dysmetria Magazine. September 13, 1992. Archived from the original on July 9, 2000. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
7. Gariboldi, Marco (September 2, 2009). "Vampire Rodents (Daniel Vahnke) - Interview (2009)". Fabryka: Industrial Rock & Metal Encyclopedia. Fabryka Music Magazine. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
8. "Various Artists: Cyclos > Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
9. Cyclos (booklet). Victor Wulf. Phoenix, Arizona. 1996.CS1 maint: others (link)
10. "Vampire Rodents: Premonition". Industrialnation (4). 1992. Archived from the original on February 2, 1999. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
11. "Vampire Rodents: Premonition". Industrialnation (5). 1992. Archived from the original on February 2, 1999. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
12. "Vampire Rodents: Premonition". Technology Works (11). September 1992. Archived from the original on February 2, 1999. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
13. "Vampire Rodents: Premonition". For Crying Out Loud (2). October 1992. Archived from the original on February 2, 1999. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
14. Thompson, Ben (1994). "Vampire Rodents: Premonition". CD Review Digest. Peri Press. 7 (4): 38. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
15. "Vampire Rodents: Premonition". Skin Trade (6). Archived from the original on February 2, 1999. Retrieved August 21, 2020.

External links

• Premonition at Discogs (list of releases)
• Premonition at Bandcamp
• Premonition at iTunes