War Music is the debutstudio album of Vampire Rodents, released in 1990 by V.R. Productions. It introduced the sound ofthe band, and several of the techniques they would use in their later works, such as sound clips and songs in different languages. Daniel has described War Music as being "a little primitive, but very funny".
Music and lyrics
A simpler musical foundation consisting of drums, bass guitar and electric guitar was utilized to trick listeners into believing the duo were an industrial rock group. Similar to other industrial music of the time, sampled movie and television dialogue was peppered throughout the compositions. This prompted some to draw comparisons between the Rodents and other prominent musical acts such as Skinny Puppy and Einstürzende Neubauten. The compositions also borrow snippets of sound from previously recorded and released music, such as "Momentous" from older funk tunes. The album probably gained the most recognition for Vahnke's lyrics, which utilize dark humor to explore environmentalist and anti-human themes. Although primary an English language album, lyrics for two tracks were translated into another language: "Dumme Weisse Menschen", whose lyrics were written in German, and "PLA Man", which was written in Chinese. "Dumme Weisse Menschen", which opened the album, even caused some listeners to assume that the band comprised German musicians. The song, which translates to "stupid white people", was described by Victor Wulf as a critiquing of Western culture and an archetype of the band's philosophy. Vahnke described the Chinese language song "Pla Man" as a polemic against the Beijing government and for its involvement in the Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989. The track Abortion Clinic Deli was inspired by the famous satirical piece, A Modest Proposal.
Release and reception
The record was completed in January 1990 and released on cassette for a limited run of 918 pressings under the label V.R. Productions. The album was then adopted by Dossier in 1991 and re-released on CD for a wider distribution. When War Music was re-issued, the song "Meat" was moved from being the album's opener to its closer. The album is currently out of print on both labels. There were plans to re-issue the album with Premonition and an expanded track listing, including the unreleased songs "Lizardman", "Blind Acceleration", "Smartass", "Harelip", and "Annexation II". Robert Baird of the Phoenix New Times was somewhat enthusiastic about the album, saying that although "the band's darkly humorous, apocalyptic visions are set to a cyber-aggressive post-industrialist beat" that there is "a point to all the sickness and gore."
Track listing
Personnel
Adapted from the War Music liner notes. Vampire Rodents
