Killing Floor music reviews

I remember buying this record in the spring of 1971. Like another reviewer said, it stays with you. You play it now and again, but it stays with you for years.
The music here is more approachable than the original recordings from the 20s. The new songs are interesting and plaintive and they say something about life, now and then, they aren't just museum pieces.
The falsetto voice and the tenderness with which he sings and plays guitar and piano is striking. This is music to sit with a glass of good wine and listen to and think and learn about life.
If you play guitar you will continue to think about playing the tunes even if you never try the modal tunings and dropped E, Skip uses. I'm learning to fiddle, and I cannot wait to try he's a good man but a poor man on the fiddle.
There is no conflict between this and the original music. Even though many of the songs are the same, the power of the different recordings and the artistry of Skip James are such that they are different, unique and lasting, each with its own power.

The legendary Nehemiah "Skip" James made his first recordings with Paramount in the 1930s shortly before the label folded. Most of these have been tracked down on 78s and collected on "The Complete Early Recordings of Skip James", an essential album for blues aficionado.

This album, however, includes some of the studio recordings made after his rediscovery on the 1960s. These are dramatically different than his early works, but to say that his musical ability diminished over the years is ludicrous.

Most noticably, his voice changed. He sings with even more intimacy and heartbreak than before (although, after hearing the early recordings, that just doesn't seem possible!). His falsetto is more fragile, his moans are more painful, his words are sung with added meaning. Want to make your blood curl? First listen to the original "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" from the 1930s. This is one of the most powerful blues songs ever recorded, fully documenting the poverty, murder, and horror of the Depression-era deep south. Then listen to the version of the same song on this album...the pacing is slower, the words are almost whispers, the guitar work is eerie and crawling, his voice is more fragile. He sounds broken. Thirty years of living penniless in the Mississippi Delta will do that to a man.

James revisits all of his famous songs--"Killing Floor", "Devil Got My Woman", "Cypress Grove", "Cherry Ball"--all of which are very different from their original recordings. And it's all guitar work; James had apparently retired from piano playing by the time of his rediscovery. He includes a unique rendition of the folk-blues classic "Catfish Blues". He also gives us some new tracks--most outstanding are "Washington DC Hospital Center Blues" and "Sick Bed Blues", both of which are about his long battle with cancer, which ultimately claimed him just a couple years after these recordings.

Some would argue that Skip James reached his peak in the 1930s and these later recordings are of lesser quality. I beg to differ--I'd say that he never lost it. He only grew older, and his music changed with him. Not only was his musical genius as strong as ever, he had lived through thirty years of hell--thus giving him the uncanny ability to drive the blues into your soul like a stake through the heart.

Haunting. I love this CD, oddly enough, I don't listen to it a whole lot because it sticks with me and has such an effect on my mood.

KILLING FLOOR was released in '92 and I stumbled upon it and
was hooked. RIVER OF LOVE, ELEANOR, I CAN'T REMEMBER, EARTH
HAS NO SORROW, REAL DOWN TOWN, and SICK OF IT ALL are just
some of the great highlights. ANDERSONVILLE is incredible
and Bill Mallonee's best overlooked song (IMHO).

VOL have heart and soul and can play it folky or rock out
with the best of 'em. KILLING FLOOR is one of my favorites.

This album has a strong beat. Bill Mallonee and Travis McNabb do an excellent job on drums. Killing floor was released in 1992 when the Vigilantes Of Love consisted of two members: Billy Holmes and Bill Mallonee. They play many of the instruments on this cd. Holmes was also a member during the first two records: "Jugular," and "Driving The Nails." (Mallonee lost the rights to Driving The Nails through some legalities involving Core records; the label it was released on.) Billy Holmes left the band after Killing Floor and didn't reappear until almost a decade later. (at one point in the interval he was a record producer of Death Metal bands.)

The playing on Killing Floor is fueled with so much energy that reviews of Vigilantes shows would label them as manic pop. And that has nothing to due with the speed of the songs, but more to the excited tension of the music. Mallonee unexpectly dropping to the floor on one knee and bouncing back up during a guitar riff only adds to the impression, as does the sudden slamming of his closed palm against his head in the midst of passionately sung, tense lyrics. There seems to be a nervous strain lurking behind even the slower songs.

Undoubtedly it's the music that gets your attention, but once pulled in, the lyrics take center stage. There's a psychological darkness to them that indicates an internal struggle. Mallonee's (he writes all the songs) choice of words are intellectually clever but down home enough to feel comfortable with. In fact, the silent war inside his head is portrayed in his songs using phrases and lines that we can all relate to.

"Real Downtown" is the song that got the most airplay, but other tunes not to be missed are: "Anybody's Guess," "Strike While The Iron Is Hot," "I Can't Remember," and "Sick Of It All." These songs alone, should have made this album a hit. But as Bill's 14 year musical career proves, talent can go unnoticed by the masses. As a struggling artist, he has learned that when it comes to corprate rock, it's not about "talent," it's about the bottom line - money. No matter how talented you are, if the big companys don't invest in you, then you'll be stuck in some dark corner of the market they cornered.

At a time when most artists were attemting to combine punk with noise pop, a la Nirvana, Vigilantes of Love took a different approach. On this remarkable album, the band injects the fiery energy of punk into echoes of lost southern folk music, not unlike producer Mark Heard's Dry Bones Dance before it, and the resulting concoction is frightening and beautiful. Lyrically, these songs hang their toes over the edge of depression and despair, but a perfect moment of grace and redemption always keeps the album from plunging over. Sick of It All, Motel Room, and Keep Out the Chill perfectly capture the hopelessness most people feel at some point during life (and some of us feel much more often), while the best songs here, including Earth Has No Sorrow and River of Love, shine with a unexpected grace and hope. The darkness layered throughout this disc does not make for an easy listen, but the occasionally dazzling shafts of light pull the listener through. The Vigilantes have yet to top this superior work of art, as furiously haunted as it is, but then, so have most bands. Buy now, and enjoy one of the best over-looked albums of the decade.

KILLING FLOOR was released in '92 and I stumbled upon it and
was hooked. RIVER OF LOVE, ELEANOR, I CAN'T REMEMBER, EARTH
HAS NO SORROW, REAL DOWN TOWN, and SICK OF IT ALL are just
some of the great highlights. ANDERSONVILLE is incredible
and Bill Mallonee's best overlooked song (IMHO).

VOL have heart and soul and can play it folky or rock out
with the best of 'em. KILLING FLOOR is one of my favorites.

This album has a strong beat. Bill Mallonee and Travis McNabb do an excellent job on drums. Killing floor was released in 1992 when the Vigilantes Of Love consisted of two members: Billy Holmes and Bill Mallonee. They play many of the instruments on this cd. Holmes was also a member during the first two records: "Jugular," and "Driving The Nails." (Mallonee lost the rights to Driving The Nails through some legalities involving Core records; the label it was released on.) Billy Holmes left the band after Killing Floor and didn't reappear until almost a decade later. (at one point in the interval he was a record producer of Death Metal bands.)

The playing on Killing Floor is fueled with so much energy that reviews of Vigilantes shows would label them as manic pop. And that has nothing to due with the speed of the songs, but more to the excited tension of the music. Mallonee unexpectly dropping to the floor on one knee and bouncing back up during a guitar riff only adds to the impression, as does the sudden slamming of his closed palm against his head in the midst of passionately sung, tense lyrics. There seems to be a nervous strain lurking behind even the slower songs.

Undoubtedly it's the music that gets your attention, but once pulled in, the lyrics take center stage. There's a psychological darkness to them that indicates an internal struggle. Mallonee's (he writes all the songs) choice of words are intellectually clever but down home enough to feel comfortable with. In fact, the silent war inside his head is portrayed in his songs using phrases and lines that we can all relate to.

"Real Downtown" is the song that got the most airplay, but other tunes not to be missed are: "Anybody's Guess," "Strike While The Iron Is Hot," "I Can't Remember," and "Sick Of It All." These songs alone, should have made this album a hit. But as Bill's 14 year musical career proves, talent can go unnoticed by the masses. As a struggling artist, he has learned that when it comes to corprate rock, it's not about "talent," it's about the bottom line - money. No matter how talented you are, if the big companys don't invest in you, then you'll be stuck in some dark corner of the market they cornered.

At a time when most artists were attemting to combine punk with noise pop, a la Nirvana, Vigilantes of Love took a different approach. On this remarkable album, the band injects the fiery energy of punk into echoes of lost southern folk music, not unlike producer Mark Heard's Dry Bones Dance before it, and the resulting concoction is frightening and beautiful. Lyrically, these songs hang their toes over the edge of depression and despair, but a perfect moment of grace and redemption always keeps the album from plunging over. Sick of It All, Motel Room, and Keep Out the Chill perfectly capture the hopelessness most people feel at some point during life (and some of us feel much more often), while the best songs here, including Earth Has No Sorrow and River of Love, shine with a unexpected grace and hope. The darkness layered throughout this disc does not make for an easy listen, but the occasionally dazzling shafts of light pull the listener through. The Vigilantes have yet to top this superior work of art, as furiously haunted as it is, but then, so have most bands. Buy now, and enjoy one of the best over-looked albums of the decade.

Skip James recorded the songs on this CD in 1964, the same year he was "rediscovered" and performed at the Newport Folk Festival. This is simply one of the most direct blues recordings I've heard. This is just Skip James, nothing is added to the performances. Skip James frequently sings in a melancholy falsetto and accompanies himself on acoustic guitar tuned to minor keys. Even when he sings in a lower register he sounds like he is mumbling or talking to himself, which makes the music seem turned inward, as opposed to shouting out the blues to the world. This is dark, deep, brooding blues, and is such a great listen. The sound quality is great too and it sounds like he is right in the room with you. Skip James sings of his battle with cancer on "Washington D.C. Hospital Center Blues" and of course sings about woman trouble on songs like "Devil Got My Woman", my favorite song on this CD. This is one of my favorite acoustic blues CD's, there are times when only Skip James can hit the spot. The way he delivered his vocals was unique and combined with his guitar playing made for some incredible music. If you are a fan of acoustic blues Skip James has to be in your collection, and this disc is a great place to start.

Where would the Delta be without Skip James? Deeper and more soulfull than Robert Johnson's Crossroads, less preachy and more down-to-earth than the Death Letter Blues of Son House, Skip James strikes a beauiful minor chord in the soul. His soft hand on the guitar blends with the sweet eeriness of his voice in such perfect musical and emotional harmony as to command the casual listener to catch every note with the ear and savor each chord with his heart. A must-have in any respectable blues collection.

I often find myself frustrated when I track down the recordings of various Blues legends, only to find the sound quality terrible. I grew up on Blues inspired Rock, and spent countless hours analyzing chords and solos, and find myself less than satisfied with scratchy hissing recordings of the Blues greats.

This recording is wonderful! The sound quality is fantastic, as he returned to record this in 1964. The price of the CD is worth it just to get the title song, and the rest of the CD demonstrates his range. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

This appears to be an alternate version of Killing Floor, the difference being that it has three additional songs at the end of it. However, these songs are available on other VOL cds, except for "Undertow." I'm assuming that this is a remix of the orignal version which is already on Killing Floor. One of the impressive aspects of the original Killing Floor was that it was released with 16 songs on it. These other songs now bring it to nineteen. Not bad, provided that the price isn't much more than the original. The sound of this cd is hard to label. I suppose you could tag it as "alt country," or even "hard folk rock." If those descriptions appeal to you, I suggest you buy the record and judge for yourself. This band has a cool name. If your down with that old term, then you'll find they write even cooler lyrics. If you listen closely enough to the lyrics on all of the Vigilante cds, you could analyze the words as being written by an intellectual song writer who carrys a deep psychological sadness mixed with just enough hope to keep himself from becoming depressed. After 16 albums, in various forms (studio, live, imports, compilation, eps, solo, etc.), Bill Mallonee, whom writes and sings all the tunes, appears to be trudging a rural road leading to the Emerald city of fame and fortune. But as he nears the city, it keeps receding away from him. Mallonee isn't frustrated to the point of complaining, but you can hear the search and the longing in the tone and lyrics of many of his songs. Bill has unloaded the Vigilantes Of Love somewhere along that road, but he travels onward and is releasing his fourth solo album in a couple of months from now.

Killing Floor is the last--and unquestionably the best--of VOL's early, psycho-folk period. The album is largely performed by only Bill Mallonee and Billy Holmes, but it feels like the most full of all of the band's albums. Holmes flavors the songs with mandolin, slide guitar, and even a trumpet, while Mallonee's lyrics are at once their most vitriol and go-for-the-jugular ("I could rape you with a single look / Kill you with a glance"), while at the same time their most fragile and personal ("Can you come and pick up another skeleton man? / I been cuttin' my wrists for a little sickness within"), often in the same song (these quotes are both from "Motel Room").

The Vigilantes have reached these heights again, but never in the context of folk music. Killing Floor is the album that Jugular and Driving the Nails attempted to be, and if you're interested in early VOL, is the album to turn to.

There are a number of superb virtual unknowns in the music world and Bill Mallonee is one the best. Killing Floor was his first major album and many believe it to be his best. While it might be best termed "acoustic roots rock", no genre accurately defines the sound or the subject matter. Bill's lyrics range from personal, tragic perspectives of historic people and events to deeply spiritual rousings. While it can be argued whether or not Killing Floor is his finest album, few will deny that it contains material from the pinnacle of his signature songwriting style. Bill excels at not only great lyrical content, but truly original melodies with pop appeal that wasn't and will never be awarded the attention it deserves. If you are already a Vigilante fan, this album is an absolute must. If you aren't a fan, you might instead try "Blister Soul" as it his most accessible rock/pop album (still cuts to the chase, though). However, if you think you can handle the emotion and loss of Killing Floor, please feel free to jump on board. There's a lot to discover on this floor.

Anyone else here remember the days of listening to bands like Acumen Nation, 16Volt, Virus 23, Chemlab, Insight 23, Hate Dept., Christ Analogue, Diatribe, Collide, all those gooffy Re-Con cover compilations like Newer Wave and Cyberpunk Fiction... I could go on and on. Remember going to see every single show that came anywhere near your town? Remember being absolutely certain that the world was going to end up being just like a William Gibson novel? OK, so that last one is still true.

Remember the scene just completely collapsing?

I never referred to this stuff as "industrial", but I know a lot of people did. Nowadays, there is no "just industrial" scene. All of the old clubs are now just straight goth.

I hate goths. With a passion.

Anyways, Killing Floor was always one of my favorite bands from that era. The world may have moved on, and all of us may now be listening to weirdo electronic stuff like Squarepusher (or, god forbid, pop music), but I at least like to take a trip down memory lane every once in a while, and pop in some Killing Floor. Or any other band I listed at the top. This style of music was my life for a good 4-5 years. And I think it was definitely time well spent.

this is the sensation of having the outer sclera of your eyes peeled away, cellular layer by cellular layer, bleary, edge-slice, hopped up on a whole box of caffienated peppermints.

you can see god there, sometimes.

check it out.

This Japanese release from Bruce is well worth the money if you are into Bruce B-sides, because these two go above and beyond the call of duty. Along with the Chemical Wedding album cut, you get Real World, a slightly more upbeat rager with some killer vocals, and Confeos, a different type of song than the rest of this Chemical Wedding era, where Bruce describes the "story of one strange night in Japan". It moves along to the halty chug of a guitar as Bruce winds and wisps his way through the tale. I love both of these songs. You can see why they were left off of the CW album, not because of their quality, but because of their different moods, as compared to the tracks that made the record. Since Bruce's fabled B-sides collection, Catacombs, may never see the light of day, and seeing as these tracks have not made the tentative list of the double Bruce Best of and rarities double disc due out in September of 2001, do yourself a favor and get this if you really are into those juicy Bruce rarities.

A melhor musica do cd � Realworld que lembra muito a era Maiden, seguida de Confeos que puxa mais para Deep Purple!!! Realmente muito bom.

Make sure you order the album with the jail cell covered in blood, if you want 60's British blues. I got the other one by mistake. Industrial rock is not my bag. I apologize for the one star review. I think I was just frustrated at getting the wrong Cd. I don't know enough about that style of music to comment accurately.

the reviews for both KILLING FLOORs are displayed under each album. the other two reviewers should note this before arguing. the KILLING FLOORs are good bands. you can both spread your hate elsewhere... feel ashamed

To the reviewer below that said that I was mistaken regarding this being (or not being) the British blues band - the album cover pictured is EXACTLY the same as are the song titles. I still have this album on vinyl and this IS the one. No industrial stuff here. Sorry but YOU'RE mistaken.

Make sure you order the album with the jail cell covered in blood, if you want 60's British blues. I got the other one by mistake. Industrial rock is not my bag. I apologize for the one star review. I think I was just frustrated at getting the wrong Cd. I don't know enough about that style of music to comment accurately.

the reviews for both KILLING FLOORs are displayed under each album. the other two reviewers should note this before arguing. the KILLING FLOORs are good bands. you can both spread your hate elsewhere... feel ashamed

To the reviewer below that said that I was mistaken regarding this being (or not being) the British blues band - the album cover pictured is EXACTLY the same as are the song titles. I still have this album on vinyl and this IS the one. No industrial stuff here. Sorry but YOU'RE mistaken.

The first song is tremendous---roaring vocals by Wolf, great, driving rhythm, etc. The rest have a touch of mediocrity to them.