Charred Walls Of The Damned – Creatures Watching Over The Dead

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Boasting a line-up that features former Judas Priest and Iced Earth vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens, former Iced Earth drummer Richard Christy, the absolute legend that is Steve DiGiorgio on bass, and Jason Suecof, the producer whose impressive list of work includes Death Angel, Deicide, Kataklysm, and Trivium, on guitar duties, supergroup Charred Walls of the Damned are unashamedly Heavy. Fucking. Metal.

Keeping in line with their two previous releases, Charred Walls of the Damned, and Cold Winds on Timeless Days (both on Metal Blade), the band have titled their latest album, Creatures Watching Over The Dead (also on Metal Blade) by using an acronym made up of the band’s initials. A fine idea, but let’s just hope ‘Crushed With Obscene Tree Decorations’, or ‘Captain Wentworth’s Ornamental Toad Display’ aren’t considerations for the future.

As usual, Ripper’s Halford-esque voice soars to incredible heights as he sings like his life depends on it on tracks like ‘Reach Into the Light’, ‘As I Catch My Breath’, and ‘Lies’. Jason Suecof’s riffs might not be game-changing but there’s an urgency and familiarity to the likes of ‘Time Has Passed’ and ‘Living in the Shadow of Yesterday’ which makes them stick in the memory after only a couple of listens. DiGiorgio’s distinctive fretless bass is nicely prominent in the mix, especially on ‘Afterlife’ and ‘Tear Me Down’, and Richard Christy pounds away ten to the dozen, most notably on ‘The Soulless’ where you really do have to feel sorry for his poor kit.

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It’s difficult to pick a highlight on Creatures… because there are so many. There are no bad tracks and it’s hard trying to even find a weak link. There is, however, a possible question of which set of fans the band are predominantly aiming for. Thrash and Death Metal fans may love Ripper’s harsher vocal tones and the slamming bursts of speed and aggression, but could just as easily get turned off by some of the more commercial sounding sing along choruses while the average Power/Trad Metal fan might find themselves going the opposite way.

However, if you’re after something fast and aggressive yet also accessible and catchy, then step right in. There’s plenty of fun to be had inside these walls.

8.0/10

GARY ALCOCK

 

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