CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED – Cold Winds On Timeless Days

If you thought that the Charred Walls Of The Damned debut was the closest thing to a higher level of insane playing, you might reconsider that after you listen to Cold Winds On Timeless Days.  Running now for almost two years, the ongoing Power / Heavy / Thrash / Progressive Metal of Richard Christy is still trying to cross borders, and has reached a new level.

The recording Lineup hasn’t changed, and it’s like listening to a different version of Control Denied, but with an intensified melodic nature and better vocals at the helm.  Ripper Owens is still the voice of the project, and he fits so well into that role with the usual excellence that he constantly shows.  Compared to the debut, there are equal shares of Chuck Schuldiner guitar orientations; however, Jason Suecof came on pretty dominant with his own line of riffs that serve as a wonderful platter of tasty melodies, harmonies and crude solo smacks to the face. As for Christy and DiGiorgio, both amateur and professional bassists and drummers will shed a tear when listening to their abilities that never seem to sour. Those two are freaking amazing.

Cold Winds On Timeless Days is a bit more extreme than its predecessor. It is extreme not in the type of Metal played, but rather in its technical abilities. This Lineup, especially the instrumental crew, pushed its work to higher altitudes and didn’t leave a dull moment laying around in slumber (aside from maybe “Bloodworm” — it isn’t dull — just calmer because of its heavy, slow tempo). The melodies on this album took wild turns and showed their importance throughout the course of the songs. Those harmonious moments were the precious elements of this release, compared to the drumming, which was amazingly diverse, bass playing, or singing. In general, this album turned out to be more diverse than the debut.

Most of the song of the album are impressive, highly constructive, and leave that sweet taste for more. Although the large majority of them follow a similar pattern when it comes to Ripper’s singing (catchy like chorus smeared with harmonies and additional vocal channels), there is a lot more from each and every song to cause inspiration. Every song’s main attributes are utterly complex and are filled with changing time signatures and a variety of riffs. Tracks that are recommended are “Admire The Heroes”, “Cold Winds”, “Avoid The Light”, “On Unclean Ground”, and “Ashes Falling Upon Us”.

Charred Wall Of The Damned once again amaze with high-powered musical skills, yet they don’t ignore the importance of flowing material. However, for the next time around, if Mark Lewis is still on the production crew for the third album, he should pay notice that the Ripper’s vocal lines should be a lot more in front of the music than they were here!

Tracklist

1. Timeless Days
2. Ashes Falling Upon Us
3. Zerospan
4. Cold Winds
5. Lead the Way
6. Forever Marching on
7. Guiding Me
8. The Beast Outside My Window
9. On Unclean Ground
10. Bloodworm
11. Admire the Heroes
12. Avoid the Light

Lineup

Richard Christy – Drums
Jason Suecof – Guitar, Producer
Tim “Ripper” Owens – Vocals
Steve DiGiorgio – Bass