The debut release from Charred Walls Of The Damned gives you a sonic punch to your sternum. Billed as a “Metal Supergroup” the band is fronted by Ex- Judas Priest singer and Rob Halford replacement Tim “Ripper” Owens. Ripper delivers solid metal vocals throughout the disc. Owens also seems to find his own voice on this disc, though you can distinctly hear the Halford in his style.
Bashing away on the drums is The Howard Stern Show staffer Richard Christy. Christy is no stranger to the metal scene. Richard was a member of metal bands Death and Iced Earth. Known for his machine gun like double bass drum attack, Christy is at the top of his game with this project.
Rounding out the band is Testament and Sebastian Bach bassist Steve DiGiorgio. DiGiorgio is a master of the bass. He relies on a fretless bas as his primary weapon a tool generally used in Jazz circles not metal. You can clearly hear the difference as DiGiorgio is sliding between notes and flying through scales.
The guitar is provided Capharnaum guitarist Jason Suecof. Suecof is known more for his production and song writing with the band Trivium. With this disk Jason shows he can work both side of the recording studio glass.
The album opens with in-your-face metal anthem “Ghost Town” a classic thrash inspired mosh melody. The CD touches most styles of metal from the past 20 or so years. There is a bit of shred, touches of death metal and quite a bit of technical metal. The CD closes out with “Fear in the Sky” a well produced big production tune.
I will say… this might not be the best disk to let Artie Lange listen to. Songs like “In a World So Cruel”, “Voices Within Walls” and “Blood on Wood” are probably not what the doctor ordered.
For those of us with healthy minds and spirits, this album does not disappoint. At first blush you will like it. By the third or fourth listen you will love it. This is the best and most original metal release in a long time. It is like a breath of fresh air.
