Throughout the ages, the vampire has remained one of the most fascinating concepts ever to captivate human attention. Seen as a myth, it makes for fantastic Dark fairytale subject matter, from the chilling concept of drinking blood to the mystery that the night air holds, and even the sexual connotations of fangs piercing flesh. Weave that myth into modern culture and you get a gamut of artists “vamping up” that has lead to a cultural phenomenon with a distinguished dress senses and taste in music.

Yet beneath all this fun black hair dye and novels depicting gorgeous hunky vampires that every teenage girl is in love with, is a Darker world. A world where people fancy themselves as actually being vampires, arguing that there is no myth or style about it whatsoever. Some claim to have inherited it through a bloodline, others say they “Awakened”, whilst others say they simply chose to “Turn”. In any case, there are people that actually drink human blood, what is known as a Sanguine Vampire, and there are those that feed off psychic energy, Psy Vamps. In both cases these people are not claiming to be immortal or to possess anywhere near the level of supernatural power associated with the myth archetype. Rather, they insist that they mostly possess the weaknesses of the race, although slightly watered down. Amidst claims of being allergic to sunlight and a few cases of not being able to enter churches and stuff like that, all these people share the same weakness: without feeding, whether on actual human blood or psychic energy, they will become sick.

I used to think I was a psychic vampire myself. I have the ability to absorb energy from others, and these days from time to time I still do it. It was when I realised that energy is all around me in the elements that nature provides that I shook off the notion of having this compulsion to feed, and thus shook off the label of vampire. I hope to inspire others to do the same.

This album is an exploration of what the vampire archetype means on all the levels I have discussed above. It begins with a fictional tale told in the first person. This part of the album draws on my own experiences, such as the repeated implication of “The Turning”, or “Letting The Darkness In”, referring to the first time I consciously behaved wickedly or, if you like, sinned - a turning point for me whereby I began to think along Darker lines and began reading about psychic vampirism. After the track “Interview”, the album opens up a bit and I begin talking more generally about the entire concept of “modern day vampires”.

There is plenty of humour in this album, such as the title “Coming Out Of The Coffin” being a play on “The Closet”, and the cheeky message “From Edward Cullen” from the Twilight movie and novel phenomenon. Yet I hope it also conveys the concepts I have outlined here.

Enjoy listening! -Regards, Angus Maiden (The Peach Tree)