CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED - Cold Winds On Timeless Days
November 3, 2011, 13 years ago
(Metal Blade)
You’d be forgiven for thinking the initial 30 seconds of the second album from Howard Stern underling/former ICED EARTH/DEATH drummer Richard Christy was a new TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA composition (or God forbid, something from SAVATAGE), as it’s musical and rather restrained. Later it offers glimpses of prog territory (as do parts of ‘Bloodworm’), before employing acoustic guitar. Still no mention of Tim “Ripper” Owens pipes, but then the opening ‘Timeless Days’ doesn’t seek to showcase the versatile singer’s range, nor break any speed limits. In that regard, it’s not until the third song, ‘Zerospan’ before the songbird sings! Up tempo, but still not at breakneck pace. ‘Lead The Way’ makes Owens jump through vocal hoops, but like most (all?) the material, lacks memorable hooks. Can’t recall a single melody, even after repeated run-throughs, which is a death knell for power/traditional metal. While there are moments of blazing guitars, the acoustic beginning to ‘The Beast Outside My Window’ (an old Twilight Zone episode?) proves the most enjoyable segment. Overall, just adequate, yet uninspired: (sadly) the individual parts, including bass courtesy of Steve Digiorgio (DEATH/SADUS), being greater than their combined effort!
