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I had not realized that it had been 5 years already since Killers has released the excellent "Habemus Metal". They didn't exactly stay still, releasing a live album in 2003 and a DVD in 2004. "À l'ombre des vautours" is a monster album, with 22 (yep, twenty-two) songs clocking in at 69 minutes. There's one song over 4 minutes in length, and most of them are in the 3 minute range. Save for the more or less disposable intro, we are treated with a load of highly energized songs, for a remarkably filler-free album. "Speed" is the name of the game here, with most songs being very fast-paced, and crunchy razor-sharp guitars (definitely the highlight of the album) make a permanent appearance. With crushing high speed drums to complete the bill, you're not half way through the album that you already feel like you've been run over by a TGV (that's the high-speed train used in France, for those not in the know. ;)) "Overkillers" is a barely recognizable cover of Motörhead's "Overkill", played so fast you have to pay close attention to recognize it, and the lyrics are not only sung in French, but completely altered. There are a few slower songs that trade speed for heaviness and a somewhat darker sound than the more upbeat fast songs.

This album is filled with varied, high-octane quality heavy/speed metal that'll fuck you up if you try to keep up while headbanging. It's aggressive and fast but also very melodic and anthemic, Killers style. Another gem in this band's prolific discography and, dare I say, one of their best albums. Too bad they probably won't get the international recognition they deserve, because this slaughters a hell of a lot of the best releases this year.