CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED – Charred Walls Of The Damned

For the new emerging 2010, Metal Blade Records brought over a bombastic present to all the wacky Metalheads worldwide. The gigantic label, led by the ultimate Brian Slagel, signed the new super group from the US, Charred Walls Of The Damned. The origin of this group can be rooted back to the brains of the famous drum master, Richard Christy (merely known from Iced Earth, Death and Control Denied). For his newfound small legion of experience and utter talent he took three major leaguers for the ride. Those being the creepy screaming banshee Tim “Ripper” Owens (ex-Iced Earth and Judas Priest, currently leading his own solo project, Beyond Fear and participating on the Malmsteen clan). Then there’s the highly skilled fretless bass veteran Steve DiGiorgio who was the founder of the Tech-Thrash band Sadus. he also participated, with Christy, on the Death roster and Control Denied. Also, he fulfilled small roles for various other Thrash and Death Metal outfits as Testament and Autopsy. Finally there is the band’s producer and remarkable lead guitarist, Jason Suecof (famous for being a very brilliant producer with a few amazing bands on his production resume such as Trivium, DevilDriver, Chimaira, God Forbid and almost all that is US modernized Metal). With these strong bullets on the roster, Charred Walls Of The Damned might be the next best thing of 2010.

Therefore, what makes the first album of Charred Walls Of The Damned so amazing, besides its colossal performers? The answer is very simple, when a type of album, full of musical technical prowess and blasting production, can run swiftly through you as if you are talking about fresh air; it is only bound to be something out of this world. Richard Christy wrote some colorful material full of depth and he knew where to put the barriers of mere technique and when to let the heart takeover. His chosen companions helped him achieve an altitude that not many bands can reach. It’s not just the years of experience talking because there are lots of examples of unattractive materials from various oldest bands, that in time, became less and less artistic as they went sour (maybe due to an old age problem). In the case of Charred Walls Of The Damned, the truth be said otherwise. The time factor made good for Christy and his pals. If you judge by performance alone, Ripper, for example, sounds even better than on his young Priest days and much superior than back on his Iced Earth era. On the album, where he is performing so extraordinarily, you can truly feel pain, sorrow and anguish – essentially, it is the heart of this release.

As the songs flow so rapidly (and not because of their short length), you might recognize some past endeavors as the classy techie riffage of Death/Control Denied leaded by unholy extreme drumming techniques of Christy’s, all as if they were a tribute in the memory of the style’s creator and Death’s leader, Chuck Schuldiner. With the full-throttle bombardments, there are also various guitar/bass melodies and harmonies, which made the chunky heavy riffs more interesting and intriguing. Overall, you are looking at an example of a spectacular modern produced Heavy Metal album that has lots to offer to Metalheads who favor even the extreme sub-genres. Fans of Iced Earth, Control Denied, Death and tech Death Metal fans would be aroused from this malevolent performance.

Highlights: Why bother choosing? We are talking about a nominee to the album of the year award while we are still at the beginning of the year. Hail to the Charred Walls Of The Damned!