Vampire Rodents was the name of a sound collage and experimental music ense… Read Full Bio ↴Vampire Rodents was the name of a sound collage and experimental music ensemble active ca. from 1988 to 1996. They were based out of Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A. although its core members originally came from Canada. The creative nucleus of the project comprised vocalist and composer Daniel Vahnke and keyboardist Victor Wulf. Daniel Vahnke was primarily influenced by 20th-century classical and avant-garde music, whereas Wulf drew from new age, ambient and synth-driven pop music. Their work also dabbled in big band, bebop, musique concrète, industrial, electro, Indian classical and Greek music.

Vampire Rodents' last recodings were made in 1997 when Vahnke was working on a follow-up to Gravity's Rim. Legal issues with Fifth Colvmn Records unexpectedly halted activity and the project was put on hiatus. After over a decade of inactivity, Daniel Vahnke officially announced his musical retirement and the project's abandonment in 2009. In 2016, Vahnke established an official youtube page titled Rodentia Productions and began issuing unreleased material.

Major discography:
War Music (1990)
Premonition (1992)
Lullaby Land (1993)
Clockseed (1995)
Gravity's Rim (1996)

Exuviate
Vampire Rodents Lyrics

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Back again for another treat
Ashes grow beneath our feet
War in Zurich
Chaos rules
Dada steers the ship of fools
Fire, air
Molten waves beneath the ocean
Sinking vacuum corridor

Damaged relay, child emotion
Uncertain what instinct is for

Di decadimento determinano

I break, I twist, I burn, I laugh
I break, I twist, I burn, I laugh

Fire, the well is dry
Air, the wolves are coming
Fire, a fear of flowers
Air, always blooming

Property does not exist
A spider laugh
A broken fist

Di decadimento determinano

Warm embrace from leather wings
Cold nose smells your private things
I break, I twist, I burn, I laugh

Concealed from the inner
The outer reversed
In the house of Venus
Mars is cursed
Flesh and mortar
Brick and bone
In Babylon they'll make their home

Di decadimento determinano

Listen children and listen well
Or see the ice cream man in hell

Treat the mice with great respect
You haven't seen their cousins yet

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Vampire Rodents's song Exuviate have a surreal quality to them that makes it difficult to ascertain a clear meaning. The song begins with the lines "Back again for another treat, Ashes grow beneath our feet," which suggests a sense of repetition, perhaps emphasizing the cyclical nature of life. The next few lines describe a chaotic situation in Zurich where "chaos rules," and "Dada steers the ship of fools." These lines allude to the anti-establishment art movement, Dadaism, which emerged in Switzerland during World War I, and questioned traditional values, such as reason and logic. The lines "Fire, air, Molten waves beneath the ocean, Sinking vacuum corridor, Damaged relay, child emotion, Uncertain what instinct is for" are a series of disconnected images that seem to allude to destruction and confusion.

The chorus of the song repeats the lines "I break, I twist, I burn, I laugh," which suggest a sense of reckless abandon or destruction. The lines "Fire the well is dry, Air the wolves are coming, Fire a fear of flowers, Air always blooming" continue the theme of destruction and chaos. The final verse of the song seems to communicate a sense of paradox, as it references the "house of Venus" where "Mars is cursed," and suggests that sometimes what is on the surface is opposite to what lies within. The final lines of the song, "Treat the mice with great respect, You haven't seen their cousins yet" offer a warning of the unknown, suggesting that there is always more to discover.

Line by Line Meaning

Back again for another treat
Returning for another experience

Ashes grow beneath our feet
Destruction lays in our path

War in Zurich
Conflict in a specific location

Chaos rules
Disorder governs

Dada steers the ship of fools
Nonsense guides the ignorant

Fire, air
Opposite forces

Molten waves beneath the ocean
Churning, unstable depths

Sinking vacuum corridor
Descending empty space

Damaged relay, child emotion
Broken connection, immature feeling

Uncertain what instinct is for
Unsure of the meaning of our natural impulses

Di decadimento determinano
Decay determines