Back in 2010, a band stormed into Hot Topic stores around the world, an intriguing group of youngsters calling themselves Vampires Everywhere!, a name that either was based off of, or coincidentally similar to the comic series of the same name. Many were confused by the band members and the general concept of the CD, leading to a very questionable signing to Century Media, especially when you realized the band was a Screamo/Electronica band. Lost in the Shadows introduced this group to the world, targeting specifically other scene kids, and those into the Hardcore, Emo, and general Electronica clicks. Well, some time had passed, and many were left waiting for the group's follow-up release. Kiss the Sun Goodbye is that album.
Kiss the Sun Goodbye starts off on rather shakey terms. "Bury Me Alive" becomes a solid song musically, though the vocals quickly become jumbled and incoherent with the back of the throat screaming that eventually just comes off more like whining due to how much energy is involved, and how fast the lyrics are being performed without any real gaps to breathe, coupled with auto-tuned vocals in the chorus. The music is enjoyable though, and if you can look past the vocals and how they are executed, it's not too bad. "Immortal Love" is the song that not only was a lead single for the band at one point, but also came off the Lost in the Shadows EP released prior to this recording. It's literally the same song, and quickly becomes the cornerstone to the album thanks to it's infectious music and general heaviness. The vocals are also better executed here, allowing some proper pacing throughout the recording to not sound like hysterical screaming in a crying fashion, taking on a stronger Screamo approach that is far more enjoyable. Of course, the chorus, again, is clean singing with auto-tune, and, like before, it ruins the song and just feels completely pointless and tacked on despite some additional Electronica elements in the background through keyboards that randomly appear in the song, as well as others.
The album also manages to shed itself of the Screamo approach, but in the same sense makes itself a more Punk meets Emo approach. "Kill the Chemicals" comes off a more Pop-Punk inspired track, being a much lighter track with Emo overtones through clean singing performed throughout the song, and luckily without the auto tuning. It shows the vocals would be much more enjoyable on the heavier song without it too, and for a more mainstream song, this track isn't half bad, and does feature some gang chants in the background that feel more party-based then anything. "The Embrace" makes a return, which was another song off the Lost in the Shadows EP, and it's stillan interesting track that is enjoyable for what it is, especially in the long scheme of this album given some of the more generic tracks that came before it, namely "Bleeding Rain" and "Carnage at the Castle". This song does have a little more of an emotional atmosphere to the music, and the chorus has some odd drumming to it that breaks up some of the monotony of the release, but again finds autotuned clean vocals in the chorus, a plague that consumes many songs on this recording and, especially with this track, feels tacked on. It's still not one of the strongest tracks, but the pace of the song does freshen things up a bit more. "Lipstick Lies" also isn't that bad a track, and seems to bring things back to the start of the album, being familiar to tracks like "Bury Me Alive" and "Immortal Love", but this time the band introduces a breakdown, which actually sounds really good in the song, as well as fits snuggly with the flow of the music in general.
In the end, you really can't say many negative things about this. Obviously the band is keeping with a mainstream/scene sound of Emo, Screamo and Hardcore with some Electronica thrown in. But it does have some issues regardless. Despite the vocals sounding overly whiny on "Bury Me Alive" thanks to how they are performed, the screaming vocals will begin to wear on the listener after a while, coming off more like a typical Screamo attempt at performing the higher pitched vocals commonly associated with Macabre, and for the style it fits, but the execution just sounds for monotone that it begins to grate on the listener for a while. However, the screaming vocals are typically executed with plenty of energy, and the clean vocals are sometimes actually quite enjoyable, mostly without the auto-tune. "Call Out the Dead" is the perfect example of this, being a much lower, softer clean singing style that fits the darker atmosphere of the song, and it really becomes a more interesting song that feels Alternative Rock based then anything, and becomes on of the strongest tracks for the recording. There's also some howling done in the vocals that sounds of place considering the vampiric nature of the lyrics, and the howls coming off more werewolf or even ghoulish. Musically, there could be a little more variety to the music, and some songs start to feel bland, like the aforementioned "Bleeding Rain" and "Carnage at the Castle", though "Children of the Night" is no real winner either. There's also the keyboards that, sometimes, feel well executed in the mix, such as with "Call Out the Dead", but can sometimes feel randomly inserted despite whether or not it aids the music, such as with "Immortal Love" and the techno solo that erupts out of nowhere in "Silver Bullets Don't Kill Vampires". All of these factors wind up hurting the album a lot, and there are times where you will just want to walk away from the CD and try to put it out of your mind.
When all is said and done, if you're into this sort of niche recording, it's not all bad. If not, chances are good you're going to probably ignore this release. Either way, the album does feature some really catchy songs, many of which are only hurt by the auto-tune insertion in the chorus. There's a good variety to the songs as far as musical approaches go and styles that obviously inspired it, but some of the tracks feel bland, and the vocals can grow repetitive, and a little on the annoying side after a while. With some really catchy tracks, there's no denying the band has potential, and considering this is their first full-length, Vampires Everywhere! will more then likely continue to grow, and maybe one day step away from some of the gimmicky elements of their style and solidify their sound. For now, Kiss the Sun Goodbye makes for a decent debut, but unless you're really into this kind of scene, there's no real reason to rush out and buy it, but rather worth sampling or buying the MP3s from an on-line store of the catchier songs that make your head bob along with the rhythm, as well as manage to stick on repeat deep inside your brain for days.
